To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration.
~ Wendell Berry
(The Gift of Good Land)
Now there is something to journey forth for!
Indeed, Jeff! It’s been a riveting journey discovering the sacred aspect of nourishing ourselves…
I am afraid that most of us dwell too far from the source of our foods,, and the way we treat food animals is a “desecration”. We are doing the same to the lands too, thanks to Monsanto and their ilk.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “You have just dined, and, however scrupulously the slaughter-house is concealed in the graceful distance of miles, there is complicity.” And every time I read about Monsanto I feel my blood pressure rise.
Wow. I love this quote, Barbara. The image you paired with it is great, too.
Thank you, Robin. I found this quote most helpful to me while trying to sort out my beliefs about the foods I choose to eat…
Indeed, a very nice quote… and an inspiring picture as well. Thank you Barbara for your unfailing, good taste.
You’re welcome, Sadok – I’m happy you found the combo inspiring. Sometimes someone makes an insightful observation that helps others make sense of the world. (For me, it is more often than not a nature writer…)
Oh, what a marvelous and POWERFUL pairing. In reading through your reader’s comments, I have to say that I’m in agreement with Sybil.
Me, too. A sobering quote from Barbara Kingsolver’s book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.”: “Each food item in a typical U.S. meal has traveled 1,500 miles.” Incredible!
Nice pairing–Homer Winslow is one of my favorite painters.
Thank you, Sheryl. I’m very fond of Winslow Homer, too!
It is indeed a sacrament. Leave it to Wendell Berry. A lack of reverence for nature (and ourselves) is at the root of so many of our problems.
So true, Amy-Lynn. Sometimes we get so polarized about IF we should hunt and fish or not, that we forget that HOW we go about feeding ourselves is the more important consideration.
If we could just get Monsanto to read this post….
That will be the day, Melissa… Some day they will have to pay the piper, along with the rest of us…