The Franciscan

This post has taken me quite a bit of time to write, and I actually think its quite appropriate. The weekend before last, I heard a Franciscan Monk speak about time. I don't typically spend my weekends pondering time with monks, but I was glad I had th opportunity and I was surprised by how much of what he said translated how I have begun to feel about food. He spoke at length about how time is one of the most valuable assets we have, and that it's the only thing we can never have more of, therefore, we have the opportunity to show what we truly value by how we spend our time. In thinking about this, though, I realized that I am definitely guilty of spending vast amounts of time on things I definitely don't care much about. I don't care very much about Millionaire Matchmaker, but I have no problem watching a 3 hour Patti Singer marathon on any given sunday evening. I do care about myself and my body, therefore, why was I less often spending time on my food?

Over the last few weeks, my biggest struggle has been the amount of time I now spend prepping food. It had been seeming like an extraordinary waste of time, and I don't just mean cutting and sauteeing vegetables. It's washing the mountain of cutting boards, utensils, jars and tupperware in the child size sink in my teeny apartment. It's thinking out the meals for the upcoming week to minimize waste, while still making sure I'm not eating the same salad every day for lunch (which, I have to admit I usually am). And also the time spent in the supermarket, checking the PLU numbers on vegetables to try to get organic when I can, if I can't find organic veggies, the time I spend researching which fruits and vegetables are ok to go non-organic if necessary and which ones you should always choose organic for. And sometimes the amount of time spent seems excruciating. I grew up in a household where we spent time on our food, but even my parents are surprised by this new focus.

But, as I imagine the Franciscan might agree, if I'm not going to spend my time keeping my body healthy, then what could possibly be more valuable to spend it on? And I certainly wouldn't want to give the Franciscan the impression that Bravo TV is more valuable.

So, I feel validated by the Franciscan's lesson on time. Perhaps I should spend some more time with the monks...but first I need to go wash some dishes...