Nourished and Flourishing

Have you ever communed with someone over a table replete with choice nutritional options and yet found yourself so completely sated by the encounter itself that you could not care less what the menu offered?  Laughter, conversation, and easy connection enchanted me recently; and much to my surprise, the very air around me seemed to seep into any empty places and satisfy every sense of longing for nourishment.  Like the best tiramisu, the finest chocolate, even the spiciest pumpkin pie, the pleasure of presence made me crave only more of the experience.

Image source:  personalitytutor.com

Nourishment can take many forms, as many culinary and cultural and comforting elements exist in countless configurations and combinations, we humans have holistic, multifaceted hunger and fullness mechanisms.  We are not bodies with a spirit, mind, and soul, but rather beings whose spirits, minds, and souls inhabit earthly vessels.  As such, intellectual stimulation, sharing sacred space, partaking in beauty and wonder, and yes, edible nutrition all have their place in the scope of sating appetites.

I like a lovely dinner with its nuanced textures, tastes, colors, and aromas as much as any other human.  I know it's counterculture to sit at a dinner table and abstain from delicacies at arm's reach.  From a survival standpoint, it may even be seen as counterintuitive.  Nonetheless, I have learned the art of savoring life's deeper nurturing - feeding the force that is me as a whole.  In this life, many do without the basic essential components of human thriving, yet I have come to a place in my life that is amply supplied beyond my imaginings.  It is with humble awe at my favor and fortune that I approach each day. 

It has been said that hunger is the best seasoning.  Gratitude, peace, abiding joy, perhaps, create the best garnish.  Whatever the recipe included at that table, I am filled and content.

Jotting with Johnna:

• What deeply nourishes you?
• Do you have a favorite ambient setting which brings you meaningful and lasting satiety?
• With whom might you share a meal and spare the meal simultaneously?
• Have you noticed fullness in ways non-visceral?
• How might you experiment with alternate means of nourishing yourself and others today?

Remember:  you are so very worthy of the preparation, presentation, and presence of that which makes you flourish!

Stay tuned.  Stay focused.  Stay well.