What’s on the menu?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the ways we feed ourselves. I’m talking about the type of feeding that goes far beyond nutritional guides, food pyramids, and recommended 100+ ounces of water daily. Admittedly, the water thing is one I struggle with myself.
We give a lot of time and thought to feeding a child the right mix of grains, proteins, dairy, fruits, and vegetables to grow their little bodies and minds but sometimes that gets a little lost as we get older, as schedules fill up. The bigger question I’m left with is how do we feed ourselves to grow into the best version of ourselves? What do we put into our minds, bodies, heads, and hearts to feel fulfilled? What does my spiritual nutritional guide consist of?
This past weekend St. Paul turned out in droves to bring groceries to feed the community through the Friendly House in Davenport and Madison Market. This is a very literal way of feeding others. As I looked around at the many people carrying bags of groceries or saw the smiles on the faces of those who stuck around to sort those groceries, and even the members of the Guys Coffee Group who showed up to help load the Friendly House truck, I saw a different form of spiritual sustenance occurring. Giving back was an important ingredient that brought a sense of fulfillment.
Part of our journey is figuring out our personal sense of nourishment; a healthy, balanced spiritual diet, if you will. For you, it may be one dose of exercise, an hour and a half of devouring a new book, gulping down sunshine on a beautiful spring day mixed with a dash of volunteering. For someone else, it might look like consuming poetry, drinking in 100 ounces of music, and pouring out gallons of love and serving others.
Today may be a good day to ask yourself: what do I need to feed my body, my mind, my soul and how can I get more of that daily nutritional and spiritual sustenance then start filling up your spiritual recipe book.
Anke Maass
I am trying very hard to work on this kind of feeding
Audrey Keeney
This such a good thing to spend some thinking on. Thank you.