Eat to Live or Live to Eat

“The food you eat can be either the safest and most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison” ― Ann Wigmore

Early Mornings are breathtaking and exquisitely beautiful. We commence our walk around 5.45am when dusk gives way to dawn reminding us that after every gloomy phase there is a striking  bright new day, perhaps just as a new canvas for a painter to shade life, a new day to set new goals in life, a new day for new accomplishments, a new day for new decisions, a new day to begin  life afresh, God lets us understand the intricacies in life through nature. The  morning Sun as a red round ball changes the hues of the blue sky slowly gifting all organisms the bodily energy, intelligence and wisdom. Plants gain their source of energy from the sun and share it with all other living beings through the creation of food.Food is an imperative need in our life.

I saw  a few middle aged men rush back after their walk cheerfully. Durga Tekdi is a picturesque hilly artificial forest with a laid walking area at Nigdi in Pune.There are  a lot of vendors outside the gate who space themselves to sell fruits and vegetables on the long roadside selling farm produce using the word in vogue ‘Organic.’ There is a young boy who sells fresh  fruit and vegetable juice for the  early morning walkers. He makes his little venture attractive by placing the steel containers containing juices on a table, lights incense sticks to give a special aroma to his place, a few glass bottles containing ladoos made of groundnuts, sesame etc are placed to attract kids and adults.

I saw those young men rush to have their daily health drink, but their hands led them to pop a few of the ladoos quickly to satiate their craving for food. It was just six thirty in the morning making me wonder ‘how hungry can man get in a three km walk.’ They now rushed to the fruit stall and bought a few fruits. As they were buying they planned to make a fruit chat out of it. The first few hours helps us organise our day well when we are able to retain silence. Internal quietness is mastered through a routine practice like meditation which helps to develop a sereneness and poise within. This also helps us to overcome cravings and teaches restraint.

People say we need to ‘eat to live’ but with technological development the perception  has changed to ‘live to eat.’ Technological progress has led to a change in the standards of living for everyone. We find people shop in malls and bazaars. They enter with a trolley to shop, and the mall owners lay a bait for the customers offering  attractive offers on food items. Many a times the customer does not require the quantity but buys it to save a few rupees not realising that they have created a demand for the item in the market leading to a rise in the price of that product. After shopping, the food has to be cooked and eaten before the expiry date. There is greater quantity of food cooked. This leads to obesity or latent obesity. These food items are not safe if they are processed food. Perhaps an obsessive compulsive disorder has set into the pattern of eating as people eat anytime and any quantity of food they come across. Weddings, parties or get-togethers are lavish affairs with food served beyond the capacity of eating. People eat more than required when it is freely available.

We had a meeting on the Independence day many years back in one of the school’s I worked for. The aroma of Vada and sambar combined with Gulab Jamun an Indian sweet threw me into a bout of hunger I had never felt. My friend a Gandhian refused to eat. On coaxing her she just asked me ‘ is your stomach a dustbin where you keep dumping food any time,’ it is an organ which needs to be respected like the brain to function better, perhaps it was her thought which changed my world. It was difficult to develop a moderation but now I am able to master it as a habit. It helps to eat quality food at the right time.

It reminded me of my childhood when sweets and savouries were only a part of festivals. I remember my mother and our neighbours call a few young ladies to help them in pounding rice, Dal and chillies to make these savories with the special interest and pain to make them healthy. It taught us restraint and an ability to enjoy the festival utmost by making it special. Money has taught people to buy 'ready to eat' foods and sweets any time leading to flabbiness. The batter of Idlis and Dosas are also bought to save time. Every week people specially eat out to take a break from home made food stuff which bores the younger generation who loves Pizzas, hotdogs, chocolates and aerated drinks. The younger generation also gets sufficient pocket money relieving their parents from packing homemade lunch to eat their choice of pastries, scones and burgers. They have grown lethargic and obese with a constant craving for food. Their sluggish walk and their behaviour depicts that they no longer have the self-control to choose the right food. Eating foods which have excess of fats and sugars reduces the inspiration and sets in lethargy which sucks away the energising stimulation and the will to be agile. Eating healthy food in the right quantity at the right time keeps one in the pink of health formulating the saying ‘eat to live’ come true.

“Eating healthy nutritious food is the simple and right solution to get rid of excess body weight effortlessly and become slim and healthy forever” ― Subodh Gupta