A table for two

In the last years I couldn’t help to notice an increasing demand and attention for quality food: bio products and organic fruits and vegetables. Which is a very good thing. Step by step we’re getting closer to what agriculture should be, to what it used to be for us, for our animals and for the lands.

At the same time I couldn’t help to notice an increasing tendency towards sickness. And even though medicine developed a lot, technologically speaking, giving the possibility of tracking down severe diseases in very early stages of evolution, and new drugs are to be found in hospitals and pharmacies, we get sicker and sicker as years go by.

Sure, the factors are numerous: air pollution, radiations, noise pollution, the city hastiness, the apparent lack of time that makes us constantly live in a hurry and so on… But we all want a better life and for that maybe the easiest thing to be changed is our way of feeding.

What we seem not to have noticed yet is that the way we eat and the attitude we have during our meals are just as important as food itself if not more important.

It matters if we are calm and comfortable when we sit down to eat, it matters if we eat consciously and by that be aware of how our meal really tastes, aware of whether we really like it not, aware of the effect it has on our body and aware of whether the kind of food we eat is a necessity for us or not. It matters if we are grateful for the generous gifts of the land or for the sacrifice of the animal who's meat we are consuming. 

If we don’t keep in mind these “minor details” as well, no matter how bio or organic our food is it will always be ineffective. 

It will always be alimentation instead of nourishment.   

Am remarcat in ultimii cativa ani, o tot mai mare cerere si atentie pentru alimente de calitate:  produse bio si fructe si legume organice. Ceea ce este un lucru foarte bun. Ne indreptam astfel incet, incet catre ceea ce ar trebui sa insemne agricultura, catre ceea ce a insemnat agricultura odata. Pentru noi, pentru animalele noastre, pentru pamant.

In acelasi timp, am mai remarcat si o tendinta crescuta catre a ne imbolnavi. Si chiar daca medicina a evoluat mult din punct de vedere tehnologic, oferind posibilitatea depistarii unor boli extrem de grave in stadii incipiente de evolutie, iar noi si noi medicamente pot fi gasite in spitale si farmacii, devenim tot mai bolnavi pe zi ce trece.  

Desigur, factorii sunt numerosi: aerul poluat, radiatii, poluarea fonica, graba neintrerupta a orasului, aparenta lipsa a timpului ce ne determina sa ne traim vietile mereu pe fuga s.a.m.d… Insa cu totii ne dorim o viata mai buna, iar in acest sens, poate cel mai usor lucru de facut este sa ne schimbam obiceiurile alimentare.

Ceea ce insa nu pare ca am fi remarcat inca, este faptul ca modul in care mancam si atitudinea ce-o avem in timpul mesei sunt la fel de importante ca mancarea insasi, daca nu chiar mai importante.

Conteaza daca ne simtim calmi si confortabili cand ne asezam la masa, conteaza daca mancam in mod constient, putand simti astfel adevaratul gust al mancarii, daca aceasta ne place cu adevarat sau nu, ce efect are ea asupra organismului nostru si daca alimentele pe care le mancam ne sunt necesare sau nu. Conteaza daca suntem recunoscatori pentru poamele generoase ale pamantului sau pentru sacrificiul animalului a carui carne o consumam. 

Daca nu vom avea  in vedere si aceste “mici detalii” , indiferent de cat de bio sau organica ne este mancarea, acesta va fi mereu ineficienta.  

Va fi mereu doar alimentatie, nu hranire.  

Yanni - Nightingale