The Gateway of Gratitude: Connecting with Nature through Food, by Elyshia Holliday

Gratitude is a gateway to a conscious connection with nature. Gratitude helps us to move into our heart space, allowing us to connect more easily with others and increasing our joy.

An excellent place within our daily rhythms to cultivate a steady stream of gratitude and to grow our connection with nature is in our relationship with our food. Each time we eat something there is an opportunity for gratitude and connection through our hearts and through our physical body. As Laura Parisi writes in this month’s article, Food Alchemy, “I’m reminded that with every bite that is taken, it’s possible to ingest the encoded information of the universe... Its subtle energies communicate to every cell of our bodies.”

Having a daily ritual that increases our awareness and amplifies gratitude can facilitate our hearts being open to the universal information contained in our food. One such ritual is to bless our food before we eat. This anchors us in being fully present and provides a regular opportunity for gratitude to be expressed and felt. Additionally, when our hearts are more open, we are more sensitive to the wisdom and healing gifts that we are ingesting.

There is not a right or wrong way for blessing your food. The only guideline is to feel your heart, express from your heart, and allow the words of thankfulness and love to be authentic.

When we are authentic the bareness and transparency of our heart honors the beings of our meal and ripples out touching life around us, affecting the consciousness of other beings. Relationship is built and nourished from here. Moments of recognition and “Aha” can happen from here. If little ones are with you they will recognize what unity feels like and they'll want to be a part of this ritual.

When you bless your food try speaking your own feelings and sharing your heart with your food and nature. You know what is nourishing you and your family, where it comes from, who helped it to grow, and the special aspects of Earth around you.

In my family, we like to put a little bit of everything we are eating into a small bowl and then offer our words of gratefulness. We have a special place in the garden where we place the bowl in gratitude for Mother Earth and her nature spirits.

Your spoken blessing over your meal may be full of spontaneous eloquence, some beloved rhyme from childhood, or perhaps words you've learned from a sacred tradition. Trust yourself and the ancestral memories you carry to care for life and to be a good relative.

Here is an expression of gratitude from the heart-hearth of my family kitchen.

“Beautiful, vibrant Earth, thank you for all that you are for all life

For your undulating fertile shape and vast waters

For the warmth of the sun shining upon you and the good things that sprout and grow from your soil

I am in wonder of the journey from seed to leaves, to roots, to flower, to fruit, to the memories and movement of the stars held in each

I am in reverence of my relatives swimming in your oceans and rivers, moving through your grasses, and flying in your skies

I honor the medicine and vitality offered and appreciate all the beings that have participated in bringing this abundance to my table.

May we receive this food as a blessing so that we can nourish that which nourishes us.

Thank you from the center of my heart.”

And below are short meal blessings offered by our members:

Sweet and Simple

Gratitude to the hands that prepared this food,
Gratitude to the hands that grew this food,
Gratitude to the sun, water, and soil that grew this food.
May this food nourish and heal us.
Blessings on this mealtime.

Two short blessings loved by children:

Blessings on the blossom
Blessings on the fruit
Blessings on the leaf and stem
Blessings on the root!

Earth who gives to us our food
Sun who makes it ripe and good
Dearest Earth and dearest Sun
Love and thanks for all you’ve done

And from a Buddhist perspective:

Looking at your full plate:

In this food I see clearly
the presence of the entire universe
supporting my existence

Finishing your meal:

The plate is empty
My hunger is satisfied
I vow to live
for the benefit of all beings

—Thich Nhat Hanh from Earth Prayers, ed. By Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon