Simplicity of lunch

Mark Twain is one of my favorite writers because he celebrates the mundane. Mr. Twain knew that it was everyday things, and not conspicuous ones, that make our life worth living. What is the use of a mindblowing spiritual experience if we can’t learn to relax while we are stuck in traffic?

My life is more about finding those small simple things than about collecting biger than life bursts of exitement that bring no satisfation in the long run. Lunch time has become one of those awesome small things that I can’t take for granted anymore.

My journey to the perfect lunch started when I began to visualize the origin of my fast food before eating it. I slowly but surelly became disgusted with the preponderance of corn and cruelty contained within each meal. I could not feel good about myself when I knew that each meal was only a bloating rush to get a little bit of low quality glucose in my brain, so I began my journey to a better lunch, and I learned a lot as I explored the culinary possibilities before me. Here are some of my lessons:

1) Things are okay the way they are
Apples, oranges, and carrots are amazing. They have been patiently molded by evolution and selective farming for thousands of years. There is no need to add or to substact from them. If you buy high quality products you will need very little to add to them on order to enjoy them. Fruits and vegetables do not have to belong to a complicated salad in order to be good. Try eating raw vegetables and fruits as they are. I usually take cherry tomatoes, celery, and carrot with me. I love sun crisp apples and clementines too, but grapes and berries are great.

2) Bread goodness and treats are awesome
I discovered nut and raisin bread at the farmer’s market and I’m never going back to sliced commercial bread. Most store bought bread–unless it’s baked in the premisess–is not good. I used to think it was, but it doesn’t satisfy me any more. I’ve learned to enjoy the filling heartiness of a baked loaf. I get mine at my local organic store or at the market. Vegies and fruits are great, but these loaves make the meal. I usually take two or three small slices and some doubliner cheese. I like to take two squares of delicious dark chocolate also. Small thing fill me up.

3) It’s how you pack it
I really wrote this post to tell you about bento boxes. They are lunch boxes from Japan, and amongst other things, they have made it a pleasure to unpack my lunch. Bento boxes are cpmpact and have compartments where you can store and separate your food. They usually have beautiful designs on them, so that your lunch doesn’t only taste good, but looks great. They are also a good way of controlling your portions without having to carry a lot of separate containers. Thermoses are also a good thing. I like to take green tea with soy milk and honey in mine. There are very few things as relaxing as siping tea between the two halves of your workday. I try to bring water with me too, so as you can see, the ability to compress stuff with my bento box comes in very handy. I can always fit vegies, bread, chocolate, and cheese in my boxes. Fruits usually do not require packing.

These lunches have helped me to lose weight and to gain health. I never feel bloated or tired after I have them, but most importantly, they turn a daily activity in to an art form. I trully believe that all life can be art, and that we start to live that way by turning our seemingly mundane tasks in to worthwile authentic moments. I think Mark Twain would agree.

Update

I have updated my “About” page in oder to give the blog more unity. I also have added a “Reading List” page. I will include a growing number of links to free online texts, as well as reading recommendations which can be purchased elsewhere. As of this post, there are only two very good books, but worry not. The list will grow.

Tea Leafs

I’ve finished The Book of Tea. The last couple of chapters were about flowers and about what it means to be a tea master. Over all, although there were a few archaic ideas, and there were bound to be a few since the book is so old, what I got was that we can have a relationship with the world in it’s every day simplicity. To me, that is gold! There were a few things that I did not agree with, of course, but for the most part, I did learn a lot. 

I’m never going to see my delicious green morning brew the same way again. I think I’m going to bring back “tea time” in to my life, even if only for a half hour during lunch time. 

Thank you for walking the journey of the book along with me. I hope that my posts were useful. I still don’t know what the next topic will be, but I hope that you will come along. I will be posting about it tonight. 

Just to remind everyone, the book is available for free here. It’s a short read, and it can be broken up easily.

As for my own tea habits, here they are:

My favorite kinds of green tea are Sencha, Matcha, and Gyokuro. I prepare my brew in a traditional iron pot, and I drink it with honey and soy milk. I only use loose tea leafs–and pure Matcha without additives. I’m not in to oolong, or white tea, though I know that’s what the cool kids are drinking. I haven’t had coffee in years, and I do not miss the jumpy, jolty feeling it provided. I drink black teas, and oolong rarely. I do not drink white tea. As far as I understand it–I’m not a doctor, so don’t come to me for health advice–tea contains theanine, which is relaxing, and helps concentration when mixed with the caffeine in tea. I think that it may help to reduce anxiety. My ability to focus and to be in the present is a lot better, and I partially have tea to thank for it, but do your own research, as I said, I’m not a medical professional. 

I leave you with this:

The Principle of Pleasure

What cannot be satisfied is not a man’s stomach, as most men think, but rather the false opinion that the stomach requires unlimited filling. Epicurus, Vatican Sayings

I love brain imaging. 

I was reading an article in NPR that illustrates my point about science having the ability to shed light on philosophical enquiry. The article basically explains that some people tend to gain weight because the amount of  pleasure they expect from food does not actually match the amount of it their brain ends up getting, so they continue to eat. The article recommends simpler pleasures as a way to avoid this tendency.

It seems to me like this goes right along with some of the ideas behind Teasim and even some of the philosophies of Epicurus. There are many other philosophers who argued for the middle way and the enjoyment of little things (e.g Zen philosophers, Thoreau). I’m not saying that we have to wait until science shows a clear picture of the universe to philosophize, but we must be willing to abandon those things which science conclusively shows to be unreal if we are to make responsible choices in life. 

This article reminded me of the way master-crafted sushi always surprises my senses. Each delicious morsel of creation satisfies me beyond measure. That is why I only eat sushi if it is made by a master chef. Not everyone can turn rice and raw fish in to pure bliss. Now that I know some of the science, I understand why 8 pieces of sushi are more satisfying than a fast food burger with fries. I can make better aesthetic choices with my food. 

The road of philosophy is about finding a better life with the cards we were dealt, and the sciences can help us to elucidate which cards are real and which imaginary. In psychology, brain imaging is bringing us closer to understanding the way we are, so that we can honor and develop our humanity.

The Book of Tea

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what it means to be alive without a supernatural entity to guide my every step. For a long time it seemed like there was no way to find meaning in life without a god or a path to perfection, but little by little, I began to realize that there was no need to heal the schism between the way I think the world is and the way I think it should be. I have talked a lot about savoring the moment and about learning to flow with the world by finding meaningful pursuits.

For the past couple of days I’ve been reading a book called simply “The Book of Tea“, by Kakuzo Okakura. In this book he talks about teasism, and what it implies. Now, I have not finished the book, so I don’t know if later on, he will delve in to the supernatural, but so far, I’m really enjoying it. Here is the gist of what I’m getting: 

Teaism is about learning to enjoy life in all of it’s ugliness. It is about the appreciation of the simplest things in life. About that moment of quiet that comes to you when you are sitting down and having a nice cup of tea, or eating a simple meal. It is the sense of removing the false and unnecessary in life. It is about living in the world. I think he explains it better. 

The Philosophy of Tea is not mere aestheticism in the ordinary acceptance of the term, for it expresses conjointly with ethics and religion our whole point of view about man and nature. It is hygiene, for it enforces cleanliness; it is economics, for it shows comfort in simplicity rather than in the complex and costly; it is moral geometry, inasmuch as it defines our sense of proportion to the universe. (From the first chapter). 

This is the sense of appreciation for life that I’ve been trying to cultivate. I’m not saying that I am going to become a Teaist, because that would be mere copying, but I do believe in the value of philosophical reflection and integration in one’s life. Some of the best periods of my life have been those of great simplicity and enjoyment of the little things in life, as well as of the growth of my skills in relationship to the world. I’ve been the happiest whenever I’ve been a part of the great conversation of life, be it though my senses or with my mind. this little book has reminded me what that means. 

Note: the book is available online for free if you want to check it out. It is a short read. Let me know what you think.