Food, Glorious Food!

This morning I woke up at 1:30 and no amount of old Roseanne episodes (believe me, there's no shortage in the wee hours of the morning) could lull me back into slumber. I decided that since that rat bastard of a sandman wasn't going to stop by anytime soon, I'd pick up one of my favorite books. A very dear friend gave me Spiritual Literacy: Reading the Sacred in Everyday Life many years ago as a birthday gift. It's a compilation of passages and poetry from a variety of sources; it's one of those books I can pick up, open up to any random page, and enjoy something thoughtful or inspirational from the page.

Maybe it's because Thanksgiving was a few days ago, or perhaps it's that I'm usually (always) hungry, I was drawn to the passages about food. Unfortunately, there was no bacon poetry; however, I may try my hand at writing some of that later this week... you can hardly wait, right? Here are some of my favorite food excerpts from Spiritual Literacy.


Going to the Kitchen

The kitchen is alchemical,
a place where we cook -- actually
and spiritually. We come to it
for nourishment and ease.
We come to it as a center--

the heart of the house,
the heart of the dwelling.
In the kitchen we are one,
linked by hunger--
actual hunger and spiritual hunger.

We go to the kitchen to be
nourished and revealed.
It is a holy place.

--Gunilla Norris
in Becoming Bread


Eating Pie

The pie is religious, something from God. The only part of the meal to be eaten slowly. Huge pieces, a quarter pie per person, and between each bite a drink of coffee and when the pie is done, the fork is held sideways in the hand and swiped around the plate to get the absolute last of the juice and apple and crust.

--Gary Paulsen
in Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass


Gathering Up Crumbs

Be careful with the crumbs.
Do not overlook them.

Be careful with the crumbs;
the little chances to love,

the tiny gestures, the morsels
that feed, the minims.

Take care of the crumbs;
a look, a laugh, a smile,

a teardrop, an open hand. Take care
of the crumbs. They are food also.

Do not let them fall.
Gather them. Cherish them.

--Gunilla Norris
in Becoming Bread


Eating Popcorn

Popcorn enjoys a metaphysical bond with humanness. Popcorn is also the world's most social food. Consider that popcorn is the only food shared while eaten more often than it is eaten alone. Since that is so, the act of sharing brings people together, even if that togetherness is no more poignant than two greasy fingers touching and sliding off each other way down in the bottom of the bucket, True, it's not very deep intimacy, but an intimacy nonetheless. Friends, we have to grab our moments of sharing whenever and however we can.

--John V. Chervokas
in God Lives -- In the Suburbs


Getting a Late-Night Snack

This is not a group activity. It is a private religious experience. In the holy solitude of the midnight hour, you are taking communion with the spirits of bird and fruit and field. The best moments of past feasts come to mind. And it is at times like these you have no doubt that life is good, that your family, all tucked away in their beds, are royal folks, and that grace abounds. Amen.

--Robert Fulghum
in Uh-Oh


Is 6:45am too early for popcorn? Nah....