The Food that We Eat
Live a CHARMED life!
CHARMED
C
Note: CHARMED, is an acronym that I have developed, related to abundant living. There are seven letters, one for each day of the week. While I encourage you to touch on all of the letters on a daily basis to get the most out of your life, one letter will be highlighted each day.
In CHARMED, C stands for connect. Click on the C in the card posted above and go to a page full of ways to connect. I encourage you to peruse the page and try one of the proposed practices to get your charm on as quickly as possible.
Daily Passage
Reflections
In today’s reading, one third of the passage is related to the mouth, seven out of twenty one verses. The focus is clearly on the importance of how we voice ourselves in this world. The speaker again presents two contrasting archetypes: the foolish and the wise. Metaphors are used to illuminate the importance of the the spoken word. From the mouth of the wise, words are a “well spring” and a “flowing brook" (4). From the mouth of the foolish, words are “destruction” and a “snare” (7). A simile is used in verse 8 where words are described as “wounds” to the one who tells lies. A lot of the imagery here also is related to food and eating. Words go to the “belly” (8, 20) and are “fruit” (20, 21) that people eat and with which are “satisfied” (8, 20 and 21).
Words are powerful, and they are a lot like food. We ingest and digest them. They shape us. The language we use over and over again helps to develop our way of thinking. What we say to ourselves each day and how we communicate with others molds us. The Book of Proverbs uses contrast to relay messages. Ironically, this text can work to bolster foolish as well as wise ideas. Those who listen to or have read these proverbs quickly, may develop the idea (and I have touched on this before in earlier posts) that there really are two groups of people and that these groups are static, they do not change. The concept that in life you are either in the crowd of fools or in the group of the wise is prevalent. And the way the language is used here, has a lot to do with that concept. But the contrast here is only a literary device to point out the scenarios that each person can make on a moment by moment basis. The choice is not predetermined. Our lives are dynamic! With each word we choose to say, we are either building life up or tearing it down. Our words are needed nutrients or are toxic trash, helping or harming society.
Taking note of how we feel as we go through our day to day routines and setting boundaries based on how we feel is a very good practice. If something is toxic, don’t ingest it. Yesterday, I prompted you to take note throughout the day of how you feel in various circumstances. After you spoke to a friend — how did you feel? Did you feel happy or sad? Motivated or muzzled? As you were eating lunch, how did that food make you feel? Did it give you energy or make you feel sluggish? After looking at a certain advertisement, how did you feel? Did you feel satisfied with yourself, or like you were lacking in any way? After watching and listening to a TV program or movie, how were you feeling? Were you calm and at peace, or were you tense and on edge? Everything we take into our bodies, in all the ways we communicate in this world, we are ingesting and digesting and what we take in is either nutritious or toxic. Why would we ever choose to put anything into our bodies that would harm us? Why would we choose to say or do anything that does not lift us up and help us to feel strong and peaceful and vibrant?
Yesterday, I canceled my subscription to a You Tuber that I have watched for a long time because I enjoyed her creativity. She is an incredibly talented person in many ways. She left You Tube for a year or so, and came back recently. On the last few videos, she was cussing quite a lot and was focusing on things that no longer interested me; so, I canceled my subscription. It was easy, a click of a button. Why did I cancel? It was based on how her words were making me feel. It’s sort of magic how this little illustration fits in here. While, her channel is not a food channel, yesterday, she happened to be cooking. She actually said, “If you are here for healthy vegan bowls and __, honey you are on the wrong channel because this show is all about enjoying life and part of enjoying life is about have a bit of salt, a bit of oil, a bit of msg . . . and I don’t care, I am here to enjoy life with you.”
I went down that route before, eating everything even what I knew to not be healthy. Over time, after making so many unhealthy choices, I was far from health, and I was hurting. I do care. I understand now that with everything I absorb in this world (food, medicines, ointments, advertisements, affirmations, advice . . . ), I am either building my health or tearing it down on multiple levels, not just physically. If I am enjoying my life while I am tearing it down, then it is a false enjoyment . . . it is a “snare” and the road to death. And this is not just related to the food that we put into our mouths.
While today, I am highlighting the idea of making connections, I do want to say that at times, it is good to cancel. Get in touch with what you want in life that is real and lasting. Discover what brings you joy and vibrancy and connect to that; it is a life-giving connection. Let the rest fall away.
List of verses today regarding the mouth from King Jame Version:
4 The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.
6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
nourish
We tend to think of nourishment only as what we take in through our mouths, but what we consume with our eyes, our ears, our tongues, and our bodies is also food.”
— Thich Nhat Hanh
Eight Affirmations of Gratitude
I am grateful for connections.
I am thankful how I am feeling today.
An give thanks all the people in my life who I love and who love me.
I am thankful for all the nourishing food that I eat.
I am thankful for all of the nourishing words I speak.
I give thanks for all of the words that nourish me.
I am thankful for choice and that from moment to moment, I always make the choice that brings me abundant life.
I am grateful that If I need to, I can cancel my subscriptions.
Questions to Consider
What are the things that I am absorbing in my life, and how are they making me feel?
Are there areas in my life that need disconnecting?
How can I best nourish my body, mind, and soul so that I feel vibrant?
Blessings
Thank you for joining me. Love and light to you my friends. Namaste.