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Saturday, August 12, 2006
I Promise
I got more in touch with how my body handles fasting yesterday. I wasn't in the desert where there is no food or concept of time (like the vision quests that I have done the past two years), but instead, I was at home with blue corn chips and fresh baked peach cobbler calling my name. I have had only water for the last 37 hours. I am not interested in food yet, but I will eat before I go downtown for the rally and a meeting afterwards. I witnessed the habit that food is in my life. I always watch these sneaky little thoughts that try to trick me. We went to an office supply store last night and my mind wondered if they had some chocolate there. During the day, the mind tried to convince me that I should juice some of those delicious organic peaches that are in the fridge. That would still be fasting, right? But that wasn't the deal. And people in many other places in the world who are starving don't have the privilege of choosing to juice peaches when all that is available is water - if they're lucky enough to have water.
During my fast, I meditated and prayed and was lucky enough to be able to nap when I hit my afternoon blood sugar low. I sat and looked at my life and my priorities. It is good to take the time to do that. There are so many social events and activist events taking place. And I could volunteer more hours than there are in a day. The busy-ness wheel is a trap that takes us away from ourselves. We would be living very different lives if we knew ourselves and stayed within who we are.
Excerpt from a Thich Nhat Hanh prayer:
Beginning to Eat:
With the first taste, I promise to offer joy.
With the second, I promise to help relieve the suffering of others.
With the third, I promise to see others' joy as my own.
With the fourth, I promise to learn the way of non-attachment and equanimity.
During my fast, I meditated and prayed and was lucky enough to be able to nap when I hit my afternoon blood sugar low. I sat and looked at my life and my priorities. It is good to take the time to do that. There are so many social events and activist events taking place. And I could volunteer more hours than there are in a day. The busy-ness wheel is a trap that takes us away from ourselves. We would be living very different lives if we knew ourselves and stayed within who we are.
Excerpt from a Thich Nhat Hanh prayer:
Beginning to Eat:
With the first taste, I promise to offer joy.
With the second, I promise to help relieve the suffering of others.
With the third, I promise to see others' joy as my own.
With the fourth, I promise to learn the way of non-attachment and equanimity.
posted by Carol at 8:02 AM
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