Monday, August 25, 2008

Their poverty shows in the way they feed themselves

"England is one of the richest countries in the world. The people I'm talking about have enormous televisions - a lot bigger than my own - the latest in mobile phones, cars and they go and get drunk in pubs at the weekend.../

/...Their poverty shows in the way they feed themselves."
Jamie Oliver via BBC News

What a brave comment... and one that is rather astute from my fave Essex boy done good.

I think the poverty that comes from wealth is a topic worth exploring... not just in relation to food but in relation to the things that build us up as people... as communities... and as a community of communities.

This poverty can be seen in the individualism that comes with wealth... the pro-selfish me-me-me-first attitude of a dominant consumer culture... with a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately approach to societal interaction. We are a fast-food nation that have spawned a myriad gaggle of Verruca Salts who want their squirrel and want it NOW!!!!!!

Where do we go from here? I am, afterall, part of the problem... I am a card-carrying member of the Consumerist Party with my prerequisite iPhone and standard-issue Vans... who am I to comment?

I can fight back in traditional ju jitsu style... by using the weight and strength of the enemy and his/her weapons against him/her. I can use my choice to become part of the solution.

Choice is the poster slogan of the Consumerist Party. The key keyword in their propaganda campaign. I am rich because I have choice and I can choose!

I can use my choice to feed myself correctly... physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually...

I can choose to eat in using fresh produce rather than eating out. I can choose second hand... fairtrade... to make my own or to make do. I can choose to support people and producers... instead of just supporting corporations. I can buy local and care about what I buy and where it came from. I can give away what I no longer need and ensure I don't waste what I have.

I can choose life... and choose to live!

I can think different (even though thinking different was coopted by the makers of the laptop I type this on...) and I can be deliberate with the things that feed me and sustain me...
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Philippians 4: 8-9 (The Message)

Best of all I can choose to make a start... and choose keep getting up every time I fall... every time I fail... until I resonate with these most excellent harmonies!


4 comments:

Stewart said...

Great post! Even if it does go all Bill & Ted at the end! For me choice does not lead to wealth, just bewilderment! We find value when we focus on the moment. Party on dude.

Jonathan Blundell said...

"good stuff" says the man with the blackberry.

Angus Mathie said...

Jamie Oliver has raised very important points and I agree with your own expansion on his theme.

Generally, apart from our main responsibilities in work,etc., we do what we enjoy and value. Jamie has said we don't enjoy cooking a healthy meal (can't cook - won't cook) and sitting down with our families now because that interrupts "screen time". As a nation we don't exercise anything other than our elbows to drink or eat a carry-out. Jamie is right and we are reaping an awful price for our excesses.

You are also right in that we can respond to his guidance in feeding ourselves healthily in body, mind and spirit. We don't need to be entering the Olympics to admire the self-discipline and dedication that reaps rich rewards.

weareallghosts said...

Thanks for the comments chaps!

@Stewart - choice comes from wealth. Money gives us too many choices... the bewilderment you speak of! As such we are reaping the harvest of our choices... our excess.

@JD... @dad... thanks for contributing to the discussion. Blackberries are good in and of themselves if used as a means to connect and access honourable content. Thing is... we need the discipline and the discernment to know what is beneficial and what isn't.

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