I seem to have inherited the “eat-quickly” gene from my grandfather, Papa. I remember laughing at Papa saying, “I eat quickly because I don’t want to get air in my stomach.” I don’t share a similar intention, but I do share a similarly accelerated pace of consumption.
Just before lunch, I read a quote in Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh:
If I offer you a freshly picked tangerine to enjoy, I think the degree to which you will enjoy it will depend on your mindfulness.
Today, I challenged myself to enjoy my cheeseburger and pierogi lunch with mindfulness. I thought of the cow from which my burger came. I bought the meat from a nearby farm, and so it didn’t take much imagination to picture the cow grazing on the rolling fields and enjoying the sun. I experienced gratitude for his sacrifice.
I thought of the Polish family that made my pierogies at a deli in Northern Rhode Island. I wondered where in the world my fresh cilantro may have been grown – and how much tomato was actually in my ketchup? I thought of all the ingredients that I was tasting and their innumerable sources.
In each bite, we have the ability to experience the sun, the earth and the entire universe.
As I ate, I knew how fortunate I was. On this planet, food is precious – and there are many empty plates. Many people are hungry right now, and I experienced deep compassion.
Papa may have wanted to avoid air in his stomach, but I want to cultivate awareness in every step. We need not go to a church, synagogue or mosque to experience this. Even by eating a meal, we can awaken to our true selves.
December 16, 2009 at 1:25 pm
\o/ great!
And eating slowly is healthier too.
December 16, 2009 at 1:32 pm
We really do need to learn to savor, again. In the words of the late Warren Zevon, “Enjoy each sandwich”…
December 16, 2009 at 2:01 pm
Nice.
I tend to eat quickly because due to experience, people like my packed lunches and tend to steal parts of it….
December 16, 2009 at 2:13 pm
As I get older I am understanding what you say more and more. However I take it a step farther.
In general: WHAT’S THE RUSH?????
It falls into the category “I’ll be happy when”. Eat the food fast. Get to work fast as possible. Driving as fast as possible. Always need to get the newest technology, not enjoy what you have first. Get the perfect body/lose weight as fast as possible. Quit drug problems, bad habits cold turkey.
It takes time to create things, so enjoy the process.
I am not impressed with people who work out twice a day or more, and never take a day off. I’m not impressed with people who pride themselves for working 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
Life is about balance.
Finding balance is key. And yes Davey, this includes how you eat which is equally as important as what you eat.
Such a cliché “stop and smell the roses”
December 16, 2009 at 3:12 pm
I agree with fluffyBri. A really well experienced nurse that I worked with in Halifax told me to always remind patients to “Smell the roses, and blow out the candles.” This meant, breathing through their nose two big breaths, and exhaling them through the mouth. It really calmed them down in that moment, calms me down still, and makes everyone feel better.
Today, smell the roses and blow out the candles.
Peace.
December 16, 2009 at 3:13 pm
u ate a cow?
December 16, 2009 at 5:16 pm
my brother what the hell u doing here?
December 17, 2009 at 2:49 am
lol!
December 17, 2009 at 2:51 am
lol x)
December 16, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Just as a side note, by “his” sacrifice referring to the cow, all cows are female, while bulls being the males of the species.
December 16, 2009 at 5:03 pm
By focusing on the small detail which you pointed out, you have missed the entire point of this post, and this blog. Davey tries to keep this a “negative-free” zone. Please respect that. Thank you!
December 16, 2009 at 10:39 pm
According to Webster’s Dictionary here is the second definition of cow:
2 : a domestic bovine animal regardless of sex or age
December 16, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Once again, I am inspired by you Davey! When I eat tonight, I will definitely take the time to consider all the details from which my food was made, grown, and processed. Thank you for the daily inspiration!
Your friend,
Doug
December 16, 2009 at 5:07 pm
I eat fast, it seems that all my family eat, extreeeemely, fast.
And how do you manage to sound/ be so wise over such meanial objects, such as eating a cheeseburger?
G;..x
December 16, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I think that we should savor every moment in life even the little things we sometimes forget. You reminded me to take life one step at a time and really enjoy what I’m doing when I’m doing it. (It also made me very hungry so I went and got a burger)
December 16, 2009 at 5:20 pm
A COW?
Just HOPE it was NOT one of your f*g HAG’S!!
Davey Muff Diving…..EKEE!!!!
December 16, 2009 at 5:22 pm
f*g Hag,,,Like the Girl at the Top of the Page…Could it be a GUY? LOL
December 16, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Poor Cow…LOL
U know what red meat does in ur intestines!
December 16, 2009 at 9:19 pm
Unfortunately the term “sacrifice” does not apply when talking about the cow that you ate. “Sacrifice” means that they willingly gave up their life for a greater cause or out of worship. The cow did neither. Animals that are eaten for food are slaughtered and then butchered.
December 16, 2009 at 10:45 pm
Webster to the rescue again. Here’s the third definition of sacrifice:
3 a : destruction or surrender of something for the sake of something else b : something given up or lost
The cow was destroyed for the sake of Davey’s (and others’) sustenance. It lost its life.
December 17, 2009 at 11:32 am
The WAS destroyed, you are right. It was NOT necessary for Davey’s sustenance, because it is NOT necessary to kill and eat animals to sustain your own life. I wonder if Davey’s imagination also included the pain and suffering of the animal as it was being slaughtered and the blood that was spilt. Not to mention the amount of damage to the environment that is caused by meat industry.
It does not advance personal enlightenment to destroy another sentient being for personal enjoyment.
December 17, 2009 at 11:41 am
But a grilled hamburger so good! Especially if you throw a huge glob of peanut butter on it! um tasty!!!
December 17, 2009 at 1:53 pm
It is true..my brother puts peanut butter on his burgers…and his hotdogs! We all think hes weird! Sono scherzando Davide. Mi manchi, ci vediamo per il mio compleanno!
December 18, 2009 at 12:17 am
Exactly! Eating meat is revolting and selfish, and extremely unhealthy. Why don’t you jump in the tanning booth and smoke a pack of cigarettes and some dope and drink a bottle of rotgut while you’re at it Davey! At least all that wouldn’t support one of the cruelest and most environmentally destructive industries on earth: raising animals for food.
You’re a sweet person and I imagine you just need to grow away from the evil attitudes we grew up with and seldom think to question. Better health is just a free bonus for doing the right thing.
December 18, 2009 at 7:00 am
I’m going to agree with Jim here.
Davey talked about the cow’s sacrifice. Does that mean he’s acknowledging the cow’s setience? It’s a being that thinks and feels a lot more than we’d like to believe.
Meat is NOT AT ALL necessary in a human’s diet.
In fact, for body building, vegetable amino acids are much more readily absorbed and assimilated than those from animal protein. Furthermore, a meatles diet is much healthier in sooo many ways.
The only component one actually needs from the animal world that one cannot get from the plant world is vitamin B12, and one can get that from other animal sources, such as insects or eggs, or vitamin supplements.
So if it’s not necessary, how are the horrors that animals suffer at the hands of the meat and dairy industry justified? For what? A cheap little pleasure for us?
How frivolous is that?
December 18, 2009 at 4:36 am
Jim and Anthony,
Lighten up alittle. Davey ate a beef hamburger no big deal. And I hardly think David eating a hamburger is as you put it “evil attidudes”. I eat fish, pork, chicken, veal, beef (no my fav meat), turkey, lamb, goat… and the list goes on and on..and I know this is going to piss off a few of you but I am one those persons who believe that animals are here to serve us humans..
After all i was born and raised in Italy and in Italy goats are Castrated by the farmer, and the farmer “bites of the testies of the goat”. It goes very quickly and the goats dont seem to suffer. After all within seconds they are playing in the field with their other goat friends and doing what goats do; eat and s**t.
Us evil humans will always eat meat! this will never change..BTW even though I eat meat and enjoy it…I am very healthy, I work out, and stay away from fast food and grease. And believe it or not I am a nice guy.
December 18, 2009 at 7:09 am
insects? are you crazy? Like i am going to go out roll over a log and eat some bugs? naw i rather jest eat a steak…besides are insects not living creatures also?
December 18, 2009 at 7:23 am
Humans have enzymes that digest polysaccharides that are only found in insects, hence we are MADE to eat them, and they’re part of our nutritional history. The point I’m making (I thought it was obvious) is that meat is very much not necessary for humans.
Lettuce is also a living creature…and so are bacteria…
can you honestly not tell the difference between a dog and an ant? An elephant and a roach?
Because animals are “made to serve humans” (…there’s sooo much that is wrong with that phrase alone…), does that mean their suffering is irrelevant?
December 18, 2009 at 7:31 am
Carlos,
my friend all i can tell you i have no desire to go out and eat bugs, even though i have swallowed a few on my bike or motorcycle. Animals do suffer in that hands of man. But my friend so does man. The “meat industry” i am sure you are correct does cause untold sufferings. But i guess in the broader sense i can see where mothers also go out and abort their children. And in the animal kingdom only humans do this. I have said to much.
December 18, 2009 at 12:31 pm
So…there’s a lot of suffering in the world…
we should just accept it? Take it for granted? Because “everyone suffers”?
That’s irresponsible, especially considering that you, whether you see it or not, play an important part in some innocent creature’s horrible suffering. The meat/dairy/leather industry submits animals to incredible pain and anguish (not just at the moment they’re killed, but throughout throughout life) for *you*, my friend, for the end costumer. So that you can buy cheap leather shoes and eat your beef three times a day.
Don’t burry your head in the sand. Your pleasure comes from someone else’s pain.
December 18, 2009 at 2:56 pm
my brother is telling the truth they really do bite off goat balls! i seen it! kinda nasty! makes you wanna puke!!!
December 18, 2009 at 2:58 pm
carlos,
YIKES! Im done..you enjoy your veggies and bugs i will enjoy my meat! um that dont sound right….lol
December 17, 2009 at 2:54 am
I always it slow… lol, that’s good but can sometimes be bad – everyone in family finishes the meal, and then I almost always have to wash the plates because I was the last x)
December 17, 2009 at 2:58 am
***eat not it, gosh, don’t know why the hell I’ve made permutation…
December 17, 2009 at 5:20 am
It is also true that we do not pay enough attention to what we eat. We’re eating often mechanically. For instance, sometimes I take my plate, sit at my desk and I read your blog while eating without appreciating any flavours of the food!
Not good for the stomach!
bye,
ps : I hope you will like it :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo3CV6sZ90I
December 17, 2009 at 7:29 am
I’ve lost 20 pounds in the past 7 weeks by sitting down at the table with nothing on. By that I mean no TV, no radio, no CD player, no other influences to speed my eating. I set down my fork between bites and I get full before I finish my meal which is not the norm for me.
Even when I’m on the run I’ll go into a drive thru place and sit inside to eat my salad or the once in awhile McChicken parts. When you eat, just eat….. don’t do anything else. It works. It did for me.
December 17, 2009 at 7:56 am
And it’s a fact that to chew sufficiently causes a satiety effect so you don’t need to stuff yourself with junk food because you are still hungry!
bye,
December 17, 2009 at 8:08 am
eat slowly is a good for estomac
December 17, 2009 at 8:45 am
yacine, What is the meaning of estomac? Couldn’t find it in the dictionary.
December 17, 2009 at 10:31 am
I’m guessing that English is not yacine’s first language and “estomac” is in fact “stomach”. I’m sure he appreciates you pointing this out. While you have your dictionary out, look up “prig”…
December 17, 2009 at 12:15 pm
Kevin, I’m so sorry I didn’t catch that. I do speak several languages and realized the yacine might be from another country. All I did was ask. It was meant in no way insulting as it seems you took it. Look who’s calling me a prig Kevin.
December 18, 2009 at 12:34 pm
(good one)
December 17, 2009 at 8:36 am
Wow you’re hot! Too bad we can’t follow you on facebook
j
December 17, 2009 at 9:55 am
I agree with you, and give thanks for more than the meal itself but for the people who helped provide it, and hope that they enjoy the fact that they are truly capable of changing a world of greed where money is an excuse to cause hunger.
Every time I see an advertisement for food I think it’s a waste of money, instead of it being used to ship to people who need it.
Thanks!
December 17, 2009 at 10:33 am
William S. Burroughs credited Jack Kerouac with for the term “naked lunch” (which he later used as the title for the book): “That moment when you know PRECISELY what is on the end of your fork…”
December 17, 2009 at 11:18 am
i wanna see your peepee
December 17, 2009 at 11:36 am
As a Buddhist monk, 10 years ago, we used take a moment of reflection giving thanks to the hundreds of hands that put their effort into bringing our food to us. We would send them all a blessing in thanks, wishing them long life, health, happiness, and the strength to accomplish their life’s tasks.
What is your life task?
Be well,
December 17, 2009 at 11:52 am
Chew your wine and drink your food. Meaning slow down a savor the flavor. Not only for mindfulness but also for proper digestion.
December 17, 2009 at 1:44 pm
You’re right. We all should be mindful at every step we take and thing we do. As somebody said above “Learn to savor LIFE”. it is beautiful!!!!!!!
hugs from mexico.
December 17, 2009 at 1:45 pm
It is only sacrifice if it is intentional…otherwise it is slaughter/murder.
December 17, 2009 at 1:54 pm
How do you murder a cow?
December 17, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I have never lived on a farm. But a cow is not a he but we eat the steer usually because A. the meat is better. B. The cow produces valuable milk and dairy products C. Eating the cow would be contrary to proliferation of the asset, making little sence. But I suppose if this is in fact a place which only has cows it leads one to believe it’s a dairy farm. A grass fed cow is not my idea of good beef. I don’t even know if beef is even a term used for the meat of a cow. Steers are raised usually on grain, some are corn fed. Our last administration shortsightedness on using these comodities as fuel for our vehicles caused massive increases in the prices of milk, dairy products, eggs, poultry, cereals, bread, beef of course, and that pervasive ingrediant that conributes to obesity and subsequent diabetes–corn syrup; the mainstay of nearly all prepared foods in this country.( my secret to weight loss if it’s got corn syrup in it. pass.) Recently corn prices went way down (the floods in the areas that grow corn created a virtual bumper crop. The price of corn syrup, however remains artificially high. The people who deal in that comodity do not have our health or pocket book in their finacial equasion. You might find this post a lot of bull. Refering to a cow as he, is.
December 17, 2009 at 5:45 pm
P. S. We got quite a lot of critisism for not having much grain products available for export to the countries that needed it. Fortunately the downturn in oil prices is putting grain in their bellies. Also fortunately we don’t export corn syrup, we seem to have a monopoly on that and prefer our health problems stay here. Many countries do not even allow any prepared food products from us. Beef in Europe is lousy. American beef is banned due largely in part we have a propesity for hormones. Pork is the prefered meat over beef there. When in Mexico try their natural beef to our “natural”, a diffference you can taste. Canadian beef is a lot like England’s–not so hot. Canadian bacon on the otherhand is just that. The stuff they sell here is a lie. it should be spelled with a “K” just like crab with a “K”. I remember as a young boy in Seattle we used to get in cans like pop ‘n fresh biscuits that unraveled to open. They were listed in both English and in French. The real deal I can’t get even with all the chi-chi food palaces in and around LA. I guess if they can ship elephant balls from Kenya to a guy in Minnesota…(I hear they’re to die for, but I will not partake as the elephant had to die)
December 17, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Thank you for bringing this to light. The Native American Indians were similar in their beleifs and rituals (sadly, not that I follow them) of showing the same humble gratitude for the gifts of Nature and to the spirits of the land and animals that provided FOR us through their sacrifice. By the way, I stubled on your post through YouTube and I am glad to have found you! And (off topic to be sure) the part of you that is ‘Stephannie’ is quite cute and sassy! Just sayin’…
December 18, 2009 at 3:05 am
Some of you might find this quite interesting:
http://www.strangehorizons.com/2009/20091214/cheney-c.shtml
December 18, 2009 at 6:32 am
I totally agree that there are so many empty plates in this world and that we should think a little about what we do have … we are so privileged in our world to have a huge source of food, when ever we get hungry, we open our fridges and eat whatever we fancy, in place such as africa they are lucky to get a bowl of rice. We really should apprieciate everything more … that why I am going to Tanzania next July to help the poor communities with food and water supplys! can’t wait!!
http://despitethediscrimination.blogspot.com
love and peace
jack xx
December 18, 2009 at 6:46 am
Jack
that is so true..ofcourse human nature by its very self is selfish. And we do take many things for granted, me included. When I read you are going to Tanzania that gave me a chill that ran down my spine, I guess its because you are only 15 and you are making yourself available to show and give love to people you do not know, to people that are many miles from you. And my friend I think that is great! You are a kind and gentle soul.
December 18, 2009 at 7:10 am
Davide, Thankyou, it scared me at first but I just thought I had to do it, I just want to help people in this world because I am so lucky to have wot I have. You too are a kind and gentle soul, much admiration for you.
Love and Peace
Jackxx
December 18, 2009 at 7:14 am
you are very kind to me, nice words always puts a smile on my face and laughter in my heart! but in real life i am not so korny! lol
December 18, 2009 at 7:24 am
Davide, you seem to be happy, and I am glad you have a smile on your face and laughter in your heart, I am just being myself, nice – doesn’t matter who they are or where they are from, i still love them as friends, such as I love you as a friend from far away –
love and peace
Jack
December 18, 2009 at 7:38 am
Jack,
I talk to much, it is raining here and i want to go out and play. lol but no i sit here as my bf has taken a nap. But in all honesty you are doing a wonderful thing by helping others, as for me i tend to travel the world, go to parties and get drunk. And i am sure of this one day it will catch up with me. But i do have some brain cells left and a half functioning liver…so im good to go! peace, davide
December 18, 2009 at 7:43 am
David, don’t get me wrong, I love to travel and drink – but i am sorry it’s raining for you. I have no bf
I will catch up soon i guess.
Keep an eye on my blog – new posts every other day, I just posted one with pics (1st post yet)
Love and peace
Jack xx
December 18, 2009 at 7:49 am
Jack,
love and peace to you also! Your boyfriend is out there somewhere. He will find you. You are like a jellyfish. what you say? yes that is right. you are on a jelly fish on the beach and one day, a hot, attractive, kind and sweet boy will walk by and you will sting him..all is left for you to do is find that beach! And my friend you will!!!
December 18, 2009 at 7:56 am
Davide, I love your metaphorical way of finding a boyfriend, I am sure it will happen,
Thankyou – much appreciation and admiration to you,
Love and Peace
Jack xx
December 18, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I am a Polish guy, so tell me did you like these ”pierogi”? I love it.
December 18, 2009 at 7:05 pm
Hey Davey,
Yah I always do that too. I think it might be where the tradition of praying before a meal came from. It’s a great feeling to give thanks for all the work and the process of the food actually landing on our plate. Even with meat although many people may find it morbid to some degree to literally think how the meat got to their plate, but in the end it is a feeling of respect and thanks we receive from being as you said mindful of the food we have to eat everyday.
Kenneth R. Livingston
December 19, 2009 at 1:14 am
Having been a “fast eater” since our 14 minute “lunch hour” in high school, recently have been putting a lot mindfulness into what I eat–it’s interesting to peal a pomegranite then eat the fruit, etc.
Thanks for your insights Davey!
Mike
December 21, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Good for you, I hope the world becomes more friendly.
December 24, 2009 at 4:55 pm
and that’s why we shouldn’t be wasting food