Eater’s Almanac is our weekly newsletter for the Huss Project Farmer’s Market. You can receive a print copy each week at the market, which includes a recipe for seasonal vegetables!
We give thanks for the life in the soil.
We give thanks for the light from above.
We give thanks for this beautiful meal
That was gathered here
From the light and the soil
And seasoned with love!
A meal blessing song by Laurence Cole
We can’t always eat what we want. Maybe diabetes curbs our consumption of certain foods as we struggle to maintain glucose levels. Maybe organic meat is just too expensive for this month’s tight budget. Maybe the car broke down, so the corner store within walking distance is all we have for now. Maybe fast food is the best option for hungry bellies in the back seat between soccer practice and the doctor’s appointment.
We can’t always eat what we want.
But: we can always give thanks. No matter what we eat—from baby formula to wild raspberries to a grass-fed steak to a bag of Fritos—it came to us via a complex network of people, plants, animals…even stars! Without the light of the sun, no life would exist on this precious planet.
Whatever our circumstances, giving thanks is free and it doesn’t take much time. Opening our hearts and minds regularly to acknowledge the gifts we receive has a way of opening space for generosity and imagination. What if we pay for the meal of the person behind us in the drive-through? What if we learn to cook with dry beans so we can invest in better meat less frequently? What if instead of financing our own vehicle, we share a car with our elderly next door neighbor and use the money we save to buy seeds for a garden?
Gratitude in ritual and word and deed nourishes the soil of connection and possibility. How will you give thanks today?
Click here for audio and sheet music for the song “We Give Thanks” by Laurence Cole.
Photo by Marco Verch, Creative Commons License.
