Dipping sauce is the secret to longevity. It’s true! Condiments of all kinds are really where it’s at. They’re like the holy spirit of all food. The sacred catalyst which binds them. Makes it tasty. Brings out the richness. The fullness of the experience. The variety. I prefer a selection with my burger and fries.
Of course one can overdo it. My mother used to say to me, “Would you like some ketchup with your ketchup?” And it was a rare shirt in my closet that went without a mustard stain until I was in my twenties.
My father was stationed in Okinawa, Japan for a while when he was in the Air Force. Most of his father-to-son stories about the past were set there. I feel sometimes as if I’d been there once myself. I sense a connection to it in a way that makes me confident I’ll one day go. They really know how to live life there. In fact, they have the oldest life expectancy in the world. A record in slight decline only recently due to Westernization.
The Okinawan diet does not contain much in the way of dipping sauces. But their life is full of the same diverse richness as the best blue cheese chipotle mayo. And while the healthiness of the food (lack of condiments notwithstanding) is definitely a contributing factor in the long lifespan of the average Okinawan, it’s what happens with the food that really makes the difference. It’s other people.
Okinawa, and all of Japan for that matter, has a food-centered culture. They have a particular and reverent way of expressing life’s joy through fellowship and food which may sound much like many other cultures on the surface, but is somehow distinct. Perhaps it’s the relationship with ancestral traditions and a deep connection to the past, a time long before processed food started unprocessing our health. Their geographic separation has likely served them as well, until now.
But also their attitude about food is different. They see it as medicine passed down through the generations from time before memory. An anchor to the past protecting them from present harm. They don’t disrespect food by pumping it with pseudo-sugars and chemicals synthesized to trick your brain into thinking it’s real. How dare we wonder why we are all so sick?
So, what to do with this? What changes can you make that improve the quality of your food as well as the emotional bond created and sustained while eating it? What does your mealtime look like? Are you stuffing your face while on the go? Not only are you likely eating a poorer quality of food while grabbing things marketed to the busy, you are also not eating mindfully. You are eating irreverently. You are missing an opportunity to declare food as not only medicine but a platform for the dipping sauce of life: togetherness.
Regarding the quality of our food, we are not immune to marketing psychology; first forgive yourself for being addicted to what’s out there. Then, notice your thinking. If you’re thinking about the next meal, what does it look like? Does it look like something you’ve been told you should, must, need, be afraid if you don’t, buy? It’s probably bad for you.
It’s our brains, the old parts in the back specifically, which need to be invited to retrain themselves. Spiritual thought offers the advice of praying for not only awareness of but desire for the foods which will be the best for you. We are each of us so different regarding the needs of our bodies that no one plan, diet, or method will work the same for everyone. Lacking the perfect individualized approach, we cling to anything that is branded shiny enough to get our attention. Who can blame us?
But what if you silently, or even verbally, asked the Universe to show you foods which you will love as well as be healed by? What if you asked for fellowship as well? What if you held these questions in your mind every day? Even those who eschew spirituality in favor of concrete reason should be persuaded that a purposeful attention to something desired helps make us more aware of what is already around us. Upon what do you place your attention?
As for me, I’ll hope that dipping sauce is the answer.
For more Hopeful Thinking click here. And be well!
No comments:
Post a Comment