Dear friends,
This is the first in a planned series of short morning reflections designed to help us enter each new day mindfully and with purpose.
In this meditation we will give thanks for the gift of food.
We begin by bringing ourselves into the present moment by spending just one minute in quiet reflection.
So I invite you to close your eyes,
Relax and allow yourself to simply be,
Leaving aside the concerns of the day,
Thoughts about yesterday,
Plans for tomorrow and for the next 60 seconds Just become aware of your breathing in and your breathing out.
Welcome back.
It has been said by an author unknown that when we give thanks for the food before us we acknowledge the abundance of the earth and the generosity of those who provide for us.
And yet from time to time you and I can go through our days taking the gift of food for granted.
How often do we eat our food while we watch TV or while we scroll through our phones?
We have coffee on the go and food on the hoof.
These are habits arising from our abundance and of course we must give thanks for abundance.
But considering the human effort that has gone into producing the food we eat,
We need to develop the habit of receiving the gift of food with greater awareness and with a more profound feeling of gratitude.
The Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh has given us a contemplation that we could usefully use as a form of grace before meals.
This food is the gift of the whole universe,
The earth,
The sky and much loving work.
May we live and eat in mindfulness so that we are worthy to receive this food.
May we transform our unskillful states of mind and learn to eat in moderation.
May we take only food that nourishes us and prevents illness.
We accept this food in order to realise the way of understanding and love.
Words from the beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh.
Let's have another one minute pause for reflection now.
Welcome back.
So as this new day begins,
Let us give thanks for the gift of food.
We think of some of the many people who work to bring food to us.
Farmers who plant the seed,
Care for the growing crop and gather in the harvest.
The people involved in packing and sorting and transporting our food.
The machinery which is designed to bring this food to us in a safe and fresh condition.
Our supermarket shelves are overflowing with the produce of all these efforts.
In the midst of this abundance we can lose sight of the fact that every single item of food that we see has involved so much work and care by so many people whom we will never meet.
And we have to give thanks for the good earth,
The sunshine,
The rain,
The seasons.
Much of our food requires to be fertilised by taken for granted insects.
If we treat these insects as pests,
We will be in for a very unpleasant surprise when we are brought to our senses and when we come to realise the important role tiny insects play in the cycle of life.
Life on earth is so interconnected.
Yet in our never more interconnected civilisation there are still the haves and the have-nots.
So many people in our world go to bed hungry.
Too many children cry,
Not for the sweets and the toys enjoyed by so many,
But for the basic necessity of something to eat right now.
Meditation brings us to a place of calm and that is good,
But in its deeper sense it brings us to see things as they really are.
It calls us to do whatever is in our power to avoid personal waste and to ease the pain of suffering humanity.
There are prayers of gratitude for food expressed throughout the religions of the world.
Here are just a few to send you on your way.
A Native American prayer.
We thank the Great Spirit for the food we eat,
For the health and strength it gives us.
We are grateful to Mother Earth for growing our food,
To the sun for shining and to the rain for falling.
A Hindu food blessing.
This ritual of eating,
May it lead to strength,
Longevity and the light of knowledge.
Let this food be nourishing to the body and may it feed the soul.
We offer our thanks to those who have provided it.
A Jewish blessing.
God are you,
Lord our God,
King of the Universe,
Who brings forth bread from the earth.
A Christian grace before meals.
Bless us,
O Lord,
And these your gifts,
Which we are about to receive from your bounty.
Through Christ our Lord,
Amen.
An African Zulu prayer.
May this food restore our strength,
Give new energy to tired limbs,
New thoughts to weary minds.
May this drink restore our souls,
Give vision to our minds and strength to our bodies,
Amen.
And finally a Celtic blessing.
Bless,
O Lord,
This food we are about to eat,
And we pray you,
O God,
That it may be good for our body and soul.
And if there is any poor creature,
Hungry or thirsty,
Walking the road,
May God send them to us so that we can share the food with them.
Some blessings there from the world's religious traditions.
So may you be blessed every day with food for life's journey.
And as this new day begins,
Let each of us watch out for the other and offer help wherever we can.
Namaste.
