FOOOOOD!

I want food.  I made it past day 3, the big hurdle day, and have energy and endurance, but I miss food.  Food is amazing.  It is rich and nourishing with complexity that entices us to enjoy and share.  The flavors and aromas fill the air of the world and I've spent a week with my olfactory glands going crazy.  My senses have been heightened so that everything smells distinct and memories flood back to be with certain scents.  This must be what its like to go on a diet.  I haven't considered this fast a diet in the traditional sense.  I feel and look better, but I haven't lost any weight.  I didn't have any to loose really.  Food is not just some satisfying nutrient ensemble which we need to survive.  Food is community and a connection we share with the sun, the rain, and the earth.  We share food at our tables, our eateries, our farms and gardens.  Holidays are centered around food, ceremoniously brought to the dinning table or picnic table.  Business deals are struck and relationships are created at the table.  The cooking of food, alongside those I have loved in life, is the greatest gift.

I like to think of the phrase Breaking Bread with a strong meaning of sharing.  A sourdough or french bread has a shelf life that is diminished when the loaf is broken open.  The loaf can retain its moisture for much longer with its crust intact, unbroken.  When time to sit and eat, the bread is broken and shared.  Saved for that moment with family, friends, or respected guests, the bread is eaten together and is a culmination of humanity.  From the wheat grown in the fields to the baker patiently kneading and raising the dough.  We mill and transport our grains to bring calories and tasteful substance to our community.  When we break bread, we create bonds.

I want some fucking bread.  I plan on finishing my 10 days, to continue and cleanse my body with a thorough washing of life saturated Juice.  But then I'm going to eat.  Not in a gluttonous, wanton, or wasteful manner, but perhaps a bit ceremoniously.  If food is a gift, it should not to be wasted on cheap heat-and-serve food or "food like" substance.  Food can be amazing or it can be a scientifically derived snack.  In Michael Pollan's book In Defense of Food, he states three rules to live by regarding food:  Eat real food, Not too much, Mostly plants.  I try to live by these, but I also include sharing meals and treating food as a ritual of community.  Its important.  I hope to share a meal with all those reading this sooner than later.