Menu of Life (Menú De Vida)
Life is like a buffet. You are given a plate, the body, and then you are given a myriad of foods to try, the endless choices in life. Today, for our subject’s sake, we are going to go at this with an international flare and in two languages, Spanish and English. Why not dive right into what makes buffets and life so much fun…the choices, from languages to music to food, and everything in between. Buffets can be experienced on many levels: You can use them to play with the intuition by walking down the line and tuning inward to feel into what would be pleasing for the stomach, you can also use it as a ploy to try anything and everything, and you can also use it as a test to see how well you can resist certain items. This unique meal of abundance truly mirrors life!
If I am to go to a buffet, I need to know about a week in advance. My stomach needs time to prepare, meaning I must eat lighter leading up to the Big Event. This is merely because buffets take up more room in the body, as we tend to eat more than normal, especially if you want to get your money’s worth. Also, if you are like me, when I am at a buffet the meal does not start until the second plate. The first plate is merely a preliminary round; I get just a little bit of this and of that to see what I would like more of. My first plate is very non-committal; it is the pre-date, the try-out, the first look, the trial plate. By round two, I’m ready to commit. I know what I want and I go straight for it. Much like life, I try to see what feels good and then I go for more. But what if we didn’t have to try everything on the buffet and could just get right to the core of what we wanted from life right now; after all, isn’t that what we are all searching for and at times using food in place of? Thus, if you could create a menu for life, what would you have on it? What would be your starters, your main course, and your desert?
A friend of mine passed along the following, el Menú de Vida, the Menu Of Life. It seems no matter the language, we are all in search of something Real to satiate our hunger and here is the order of the day:
Starters: Love yourself, a lot, Value what you already have, Smile, Follow through with promises, Be Humble, Pay attention to the details.
For The Main Course: Respect each other’s differences, Know how to listen, Look with the heart, Believe in life’s treasures and dreams, Allow failures.
For The Sweetness, Dessert: Give thanks, Have humor and live a healthy life, Take care of the earth.
And for the talk after the meal, Sobremesa: Always have fun, Live for today.
Sobremesa is a common word in Spanish cultures. It is that time after a meal when everyone just sits and talks around the table. Even in our hurried, modern times, Spanish cultures are still taking time at la comida, lunch, and la cena, dinner, to just talk. It is a time for food to digest and a time for sharing. When I recently asked my Spanish friend, Raul, what he was looking forward to most about Navidad, Christmas, he said, “La Sobremesa.” He told me how it was his favorite part of the holidays. It is a time when all of his family is gathered together, all his aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents, all under one roof, sitting around the tables just talking, just being together. Yes, in America we may have time such as this but it is not so ingrained in our culture that we have a word for it, much less on a menu. And now, most likely that lull after a meal is used for a time to watch television, or like after Thanksgiving, to rush off to get the best deals. However, next to giving thanks it is important to take time and to talk with the one you have just shared a meal with, even if it is only with yourself, for that time shared is what is Real. It is the moment when we honor our connection and union. The main credo of the spiritual text, A Course in Miracles, is
“Nothing real can be threatened / Nada real puede ser amenazado
Nothing unreal exists / Nada irreal existe
Herein lies the peace of God / En esto radical la paz de Dios”
What is Real can create no hunger, only peace. It is an endless well from which we are fed. Even as we explore various nutritional regimens and options, from the Whole30 to fasts to Paleo, the main core of our appetite is not for food but for that which is Real, everlasting peace. Thus, what are those ingredients and recipes that make up a satiating life for you? What are the items that the mind and body truly need beyond any physical morsel of food? Give yourself a taste of those items and see how healthy and whole you really feel when you dine off El Menú de Vida. Buen provecho. Bon appétit.