Gratitude #46
The meal on my plate
Anthony Nanfito, Haiku Ponderings
A lot of hands helped create
Body, soul—nourished
Pondering This Haiku
I probably not supposed to admit this, but I’m going to anyway: this is one of my favorite haiku I’ve written. It expresses a thought that often crosses my mind when I eat meal.
In our modern world with our grand supply chain lines—that conveniently deliver our food from farms around the world to market shelves in our local neighborhoods to our very own tables—it can be easy to forget all of the hands that had a making it.
There’s the farm worker who planted, tended, and harvested the crop.
The loaders who packed the delivery truck to send the crop to a distribution center.
The distribution worker who cleaned and prepared the crop for distribution to grocery stores.
The loaders who load up the delivery truck.
The delivery truck driver who takes the crop to the grocery store.
The grocery store worker who unloads the truck.
The grocery store worker who stocks the shelves.
Your own hands who grab it from the shelf, take it home, and prepare your meal.
All of these hands—yours and theirs—contribute to bring you this food that provides nourishment for the body and soul. This is the series of thoughts that pass through my head when I eat a meal.
And whether I made the meal myself or there were addition hands at a restaurant who prepared it for me, I feel gratitude surge up inside me, especially when I consider all the mouths—both past and present—that don’t have easy access to food.
A Question for You to Ponder
How do you express gratitude for the food you eat?
Share your answer in the comments below.
Book Promo for National Poetry Month:
The featured haiku in this post is from my haiku collection, Haiku Ponderings. This collection features over 100 haiku centered around the themes of Mindfulness, Compassion, Gratitude, Love & Loss, and Give & Forgive.
In celebration of (U.S.) National Poetry Month, my collection is discounted for a promotion price of $0.99 from Fri April 1, 2022 to Sat April 30, 2022 on the following retailers. Follow the link below to download your copy today!
If you’re enjoying this blog series celebrating National Poetry Month and want to read the other posts in the series click here.
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