What does food mean to you? To me, food means nourishment, abundance, and life.
But the over the course of my life, meaning of food had changed so much. In the beginning, when I was a small child, food to me meant fun. I loved eating food.
Then in my teenage years, I saw food as evil. Cause of my weight gain and it only does harm than good. Until I felt more confident in my body and eating after learning about Mindful Eating.
I am so fortunate to be in a country where food is abundant and I am grateful that I can afford to eat what I want. I remember my parents always used to tell me to clean up the plate because there are so many people in the world who don't have access to food. And I still think about it when I am eating. Usually, I clean my plate, I don't like to keep food left over. But some people might tell me that it's not mindful because you're forcing yourself to eat more than your body needs. It may be not mindful if I am watching TV while eating and mindlessly cleaning my plate. When you're distracted and carelessly eating the food, when you're not paying the proper attention and respect for the food, it becomes a toxic habit. So today, I want you to ponder on how fortunate you are to have food on the table. Clean up the plate, mindfully and respectfully. If in case you see there's too much on your plate, save some for later or share the half with others. Food is meant to nourish your body and sustain your livelihood. When you're consciously eating and nourishing yourself without judgement, cleaning up the plate isn't so bad after all.