on food
as i eat my special k and realize that morning tea is now only a memory, i cannot seem to remember when it was before this that i wasn't drinking tea every morning. i'd thought i was addicted, only to find that the transition out was 'quiet as a flake'. sometimes we trick ourselves into perceiving addiction as a routine. what a relief to note that we also occasionally make the opposite mistake!
[trains of thought evolve at rapid pace these days. i now keep an 'observation' notebook, to observe inward and outward processes that i'd like to give some extra thought, lest they come and go without a trace. despite the challenge of having to whip it out and jot something down before the thought has left the realms of my mind, and of even being able to do such a thing in a given situation, i'm fascinated to find that the notebook sees a good number of sparks in a day.]
while cereal is just one example (i am reminded of p's recent comment that she thinks of me when she eats cereal because she remembers that i don't like it - not true any more, phew!), i find that attitudes and trains of thought regarding food in general, have evolved considerably. at some point, i thought i was addicted to ice cream and all things sweet, so i decided to give them up for a period of time. since, i have not experienced a craving for anything sweet, but i had certainly come to avoid sweets altogether. more recently, i decided to give up eating oily, greasy foods altogether, and found i did not miss them at all. it is only when i went on my fruit-and-nut diet did i drive home the realization that i could give up all food and not feel the pain of it (though i suspect i would die soon). and then i realized - that's not the point.
the point isn't to give up everything; the point (as i see it) is to always be able to give up anything at will. and within edibility and principle, i see absolutely nothing wrong in eating everything, while keeping quantities in check. it is true that i am happier to eat healthier food, but once in a while it is okay to eat pizza or ice cream or muffins, if other factors seem to drive things in that direction. renunciation may be necessary/encouraged sometimes, but this too needs to be moderated carefully. i would not like to reject indiscriminately the gifts that nature showers upon us. i'd much rather say, "thank you; a little but no more".
[trains of thought evolve at rapid pace these days. i now keep an 'observation' notebook, to observe inward and outward processes that i'd like to give some extra thought, lest they come and go without a trace. despite the challenge of having to whip it out and jot something down before the thought has left the realms of my mind, and of even being able to do such a thing in a given situation, i'm fascinated to find that the notebook sees a good number of sparks in a day.]
while cereal is just one example (i am reminded of p's recent comment that she thinks of me when she eats cereal because she remembers that i don't like it - not true any more, phew!), i find that attitudes and trains of thought regarding food in general, have evolved considerably. at some point, i thought i was addicted to ice cream and all things sweet, so i decided to give them up for a period of time. since, i have not experienced a craving for anything sweet, but i had certainly come to avoid sweets altogether. more recently, i decided to give up eating oily, greasy foods altogether, and found i did not miss them at all. it is only when i went on my fruit-and-nut diet did i drive home the realization that i could give up all food and not feel the pain of it (though i suspect i would die soon). and then i realized - that's not the point.
the point isn't to give up everything; the point (as i see it) is to always be able to give up anything at will. and within edibility and principle, i see absolutely nothing wrong in eating everything, while keeping quantities in check. it is true that i am happier to eat healthier food, but once in a while it is okay to eat pizza or ice cream or muffins, if other factors seem to drive things in that direction. renunciation may be necessary/encouraged sometimes, but this too needs to be moderated carefully. i would not like to reject indiscriminately the gifts that nature showers upon us. i'd much rather say, "thank you; a little but no more".
2 comments:
I think attaining detachment from strong likes/dislikes is good in general. I totally agree with what you said about reaching a state where in principle one could give up anything and not feel too bad about it. So true detachment is not actually giving up stuff in the world, but rather enjoying everything in the world but having the capacity to give up anything if a higher cause dictates so.
Another way of saying this is that one is truly detached from something if its absence would not cause one significant stress/unhappiness - and in particular would not deter one from the path of spiritual growth.
hmm, yes. so true.
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