We hear these words and this phrase, Soul Food mentioned around seemingly good food or supposedly great comforting food yet do we use it too loosely? Might it mean something far more, much deeper then the connection we make between feeding ourselves rich foods?
Perhaps when it comes to food, eating and diet in general this term goes back to a distant time when we were more in touch with who we are and what the consequences of eating a poor diet would be. What if this really has to do less with the type of food and relates to the place the food comes from?
When I think of a spiritual connection to my food, these days I seem to gravitate towards wild game, herbs, vegetables and berries I grow in the garden and meat I raise myself. All of this would be organic in that no chemical would knowingly be supplied to anything.
Our food is something that has gotten away from us. We have been taken down a path of resistance to real, earth grown produce towards trusting and placing faith in clean, 'safe' (sterile) foods manufactured, treated and processed in some way.
This alone destroys the intended meaning of our food - it is meant to build strong healthy bodies, also contributing to strong willed minds. But, we must also take this one step further because we are spiritual creatures, our food is meant to maintain this connection we have with the earth and all her forces.
For me, this has come to mean keeping the cleanest diet possible, and seeking out wild natural sources of basic foods that are alive with nature vibrating inside of it. I have mentioned how the first time I ate venison (after many years) I dreamed of the foods the animal had been eating - wild apples, grasses, trees - as if I was becoming a part of some hidden landscape.
But then again, I was not becoming anything - this wild animal was now leading me inward, towards an ancient original aspect of myself - my soul. They have not forgotten who we are....
April
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| Roast Venison cooked in clay pot |
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