“This food is the gift of the whole universe – the earth, the sky, and much hard work. May we live in a way that makes us worthy to receive it.”  – Thich Nhat Hanh

We have a big problem around here: The proportion of time we spend appreciating our food is way out of proportion to the time we spend working on the food. This realization hit me like a gong after I had spent almost two hours preparing dinner, dashing out to the garden to grab ingredients, standing over the hot stove when it was 80 degrees out — and then we sit down to eat and we spend less than five minutes at the table actually appreciating the literal fruits of our labor.

The Boss comes in and sits down just as the food hits the table. We both dump food on our plates, eat like it is a competition, and jump up to clear the table while we are still chewing our last bites. That is just not right. What is all the work for if we can’t sit down and truly enjoy it?

Considering the fact that we spend a bazillion hours working in the garden, this imbalance just seems ridiculous. It is like working your ass off in school, getting straight A’s and never taking time to look at the report card. (I have a hundred other metaphors I could use, but you get the idea).

Our food deserves more respect.

Mindful eating is so damn rewarding and not a lot of extra work, yet it never occurs to us to slow the fuck down and sit our butts at the table and appreciate every bite.

I realize we are ahead of the game even taking time to sit at a table and eat together, but still; if we are going to take the time to sit down and eat, let’s do it right.

I started sitting down at the table with all the intention of eating mindfully, taking my time and enjoying the food we have worked so very hard to grow and prepare. No matter how fast the hubby ate, I took my time and kept my butt in the seat until every bite had been chewed and started to work its way through my digestive system and then I sat even a little longer. You know what happened?

Yes, the food taste better, digested easier, and I got full faster, but here is the real reward — the hubby started cleaning up. He cleared the table, stowed away left overs, put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher. He never did that shit before. I think at first he thought I was upset with him, sitting there, eating slowly, not getting up from the table immediately after I finished eating.

When I told him I wasn’t being passive-aggressive, I was just practicing mindful eating he plopped his butt back down in the chair and joined me. We have started appreciating our meals together in a way that reflects the love and care we put into growing the stuff on the table. Now, for us, meal time has become a simple ceremony dedicated to gratefulness for the abundance that is ours. Amen!! Namaste!! and Yum!