A Bowl of Rice

It has become a cliché to speak of gratitude.  I think most wisdom has become a cliché in our modern, Western society.  I can still hear my mother’s words to me when I was younger to be thankful for what you have.  But the admonition seems so simple that there cannot possibly be profound wisdom therein.

But, life is simple.  It just isn’t easy.

As I’ve said before, I think the meaning of life in our society is to work to get money to get things.  And, after we get those things, we need other things.  More things. And, while things can give us temporary pleasure, they cannot give us fulfillment because they are simply things.  Though you may be tempted to argue that the pleasure you get from things is what you are seeking, I offer as proof for my argument the fact that those of us who pursue things, are always looking for another, or more things.  The things we seek never seem to give us enough or provide lasting pleasure.  To seek things is the function of the ego.  And the ego is never satisfied, so we have to keep seeking things and are still never satisfied.

All of this is simply the ego’s way of keeping us from the realization of our true selves.  The ego tells us things aren’t right in our lives and we are in lack; therefore we need more things to fulfill that lack.

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I yearn to tell you that I have given up my pursuit of physical things, but it is almost entirely true that things have given me up.

I can’t seem to find work, whether it is work I enjoy or not.  I am basically living hand-to-mouth.  But I find that I no longer have the drive to find a job or work because I no longer care to buy things.  And none of the jobs or work I’ve had in the past hold any meaning to me.

What I want to do is experience the moments which life brings to me.

Someday I’d like to buy a truck and fifth-wheel to travel our country in search of interesting people and places to share with you, either on video or blog.  As of yet, it has not come to fruition, but that does not mean I have given up on that idea.

I am currently living in a room at my daughter’s rented house. And am struggling with what inconveniences this may be causing her.  Friends have told me that she wants me to stay with her.  I think, first of all, she doesn’t want to see me living on the street or in the car my mother has lovingly let me borrow.

My daughter, so my friends have said, says it is help for me to be able to help her with my granddaughter and that she enjoys my company.  And while this may be true, I know her landlord is not happy with me being here and it is causing problems for my daughter.  I do not want to be a problem for her or my sons.

However, I am enjoying the precious moments I am getting to spend with my two girls. And that leads me back to gratitude.

Having found myself in this position has given me the opportunity to be grateful for the small blessings I do find in my life.  Henry Davis Thoreau said, We make ourselves rich by making our wants few. And my desires are few.   And few desires and few things in my life are allowing me to appreciate what are really the important things.

For example, last night I had some rice for dinner.  It was plain, Basmati brown rice that I had already made and stored in the refrigerator in a plastic container.  There was a little olive oil so it looked like my dinner would be some slightly fried rice.  Plain rice warmed in olive oil doesn’t sound like much but, when you’re hungry, it is just fine.  Then I looked in the kitchen cupboard and saw some steak seasoning!  I sprinkled on a little and it instantly smelled delicious.  After scooping into a bowl, I looked in the refrigerator and found some feta cheese crumbles left over from a Greek salad we had last week.  What would that taste like?  Dunno, but into the bowl it went.

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What a treat!  As I savored my little dinner, I wondered if, at some other point in my life, had I been offered this concoction for a meal or even a side dish, what would I have thought?  Would I have tasted it and thought,  “Rice and steak seasoning in olive oil with feta?!  That doesn’t even go together!”

But here in my little room, a bowl of rice turned into something more exotic, a true treat!  Was it because it was all I had?  Perhaps.  But taking the time to be grateful for that dinner had turned it from something simple into something delicious.  Taking the time to savor each bite and to appreciate that I had food was indeed living in the moment.  And shutting off my mind (ego) and experiencing a gift from Heaven and Earth, allowed me to be in the moment.  And I was so grateful!

I sat, in my beloved daughter’s house, in the little room she’d provided for me, eating my bowl of rice and drinking a cool glass of water.  I felt truly blessed by Him and truly grateful for the bowl of rice and the opportunity to experience that moment of my life and feel and express my gratitude.

Tonight, more rice and…

I wonder what blessing I will discover to accompany it?!

Thank you, God, for these moments in this life and the opportunity to experience them.