Eat, drink and be merry!

"Being able to eat and drink is a blessing!" This sentence is often mentioned. After using it for a long time, we gradually forget that this seemingly ordinary blessing is not simple. There is no denying that eating and drinking are necessary things in life. But one-fifth of the people in the world go to bed hungry, and some people die of hunger. This shows that this basic need is not as natural as imagined.

Inspiration from eating and drinking

I once heard a homeless man standing in a subway station complaining to passers-by: "In the shelter, I eat the same spaghetti with orange juice every Christmas." I also heard someone complaining to the flight attendants on an airplane. : "Why is it other than chicken? Why haven't you changed the menu for so many years?" But the young master in the air also gave a wonderful answer: "But the chicken you eat is different every time!" These people muttered. People may have never been truly hungry, but don’t they know that if they have food and drink, they should be grateful and contented. I really can’t imagine how painful it would be to starve to death alive. I just know that every time my stomach rumbles and my blood sugar drops, that’s when my physical and mental functions become dysfunctional. It is no wonder that Esau would sell his birthright for a bowl of red bean soup. I express my sympathy for Esau in particular, which is understandable but not suitable to be imitated.

Of course, eating and drinking are also important things in life. From a personal perspective: Who do you often eat and drink with? Where to eat? What to eat and drink? From this relationship, most of the "personal file information" can be deduced. As far as culture is concerned: the most direct way to understand different ethnic groups is to start by studying their eating habits. To be more practical, eating and drinking are the source of my life enjoyment and creation.

I admire the example left by the literary giant Su Dongpo. In addition to his works being passed down through the ages, "Dongpo Meat" is also considerate of people's sentiments, friendly and natural. Also because of Dongpo layman's food philosophy that "no bamboo makes people vulgar, and no meat makes people thin.", I once inspired me to write a creative scholarship application project project "artistic expression and taste bud experience are inseparable explorations": I want to Go and live with an aboriginal people who eat taro as their staple food and use red as their main color; eat and drink together, and listen to them tell different stories; experience their operations on different diets, and draw pictures based on the inspiration given by the food and stories. Publish a series of recipe "stills" and then publish a "red taro" recipe book.

Why do we have to go to aboriginal places? Because their cooking habits are very simple, they can eat and drink the original flavor of the food. Based on the long-standing belief, I believe that this can also bring out the originality of the work. Unfortunately, this great plan was not favored by the judges. Although this cookbook has not yet been written, I have never doubted the close connection between eating, drinking and creating.

From inside to outside, from outside to inside

Eating and drinking is a process of enjoyment from the inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside.

God has created so many dazzling varieties of fruits and vegetables. The so-called beauty is for us to enjoy them. How can we not respond to Him wholeheartedly? (I admit that I rarely disappoint Him in this area.) Although I don’t know how many things I have done in my life to please God, I am sure that they must include:

*After cutting the kiwi fruit open, you can stay there for a long time and carefully observe the internal patterns and colors.
＊I am frying the eggs with a feeling of looking forward to the dance performance.
*Any piece of seaweed can make me look like a kaleidoscope under the light.
*Admire the bright red color of the lobster after being boiled.
＊Watch the cross section of braised beef tendon with awe.

Also, I always visit wet markets, especially traditional markets, very attentively.

I always feel that the air there is filled with a special atmosphere of wanting to treat myself and the surroundings well. It makes me feel as if I am taking a wonderful walk with God. Once, in the traditional market near the harbor in Barcelona, my eyes stopped at the piles of attractively colored strawberries. Because I didn’t know how to sell it, after a lot of fussing, a coin went out; when I came back, I got a large cone rolled out of thick plain newspaper. I ate those strawberries for three days. With all the excitement in my heart, I had the urge to stand on the street and shout loudly: "Look! I am the happiest tourist in Spain!"

It was also at another foreign market that gave me a deeper understanding of eating and drinking.

In the early summer of this year, I went to the Miao and Tujia Autonomous Prefecture in Hunan Province, China. In a small town called Fenghuang, which is surrounded by mountains and rivers, I met some vendors selling handicrafts. At first, when you passed by, they would shout at the top of their lungs: "Come and buy mine! Work hasn't started yet today!" Since I stayed longer than ordinary tourists, I was often seen wandering around the town. Later, I said The words were changed to: "Why are you still here? Didn't you go back?" But the most classic one came from a friend named Yantao in Chinese who said to me naughtily: "You are an American devil and we are enemies!" It's just me! I know that most of these women only eat two meals a day in order to save money for business. So before leaving, I bought six sesame cakes: three with bacon and three with sweet bean paste, and planned to treat three Miao women who often chatted with me to some snacks. When I was saying goodbye, I saw the grandma who was weaving a belt and was setting up her stall, so I asked one of them if she would mind giving one to her. Although my grandma didn’t speak Chinese, her cute face was very attractive. She smiled and looked at me as I took the cake. At this moment, other women also shared the cakes with the friends next to them. The wind blew slightly, and the sesame biscuits were chewed slowly in my mouth. I watched them eating from the misty wet eyes. I never thought that six sesame biscuits could form such an unforgettable touch and satisfaction...

My appetite for eating and drinking is functioning normally and is generally active. For this field, he is full of curiosity and thirst for knowledge. If he can't eat or drink, unless he is sick, there must be an "extraordinary" reason.

Can't wait

Nine years ago, it was also the first year after my mother passed away that I went to New York to study. A classmate from elementary school in Long Island invited me to her home to celebrate the Chinese New Year and have a New Year’s Eve reunion dinner. Facing this invitation, it’s not that I don’t want to go, but that I don’t have the courage to go. I was very nervous and struggling. I wonder if I can bear to see other people’s families gathering together without thinking about the New Year’s Eve dinner that my father cooked during his lifetime? I wonder if I will be moved by the scene without feeling sorry for myself? If I suddenly feel sad, can I trick them into crying because the food is too spicy? But what if there are no spicy dishes on the table? If you lose the ability to eat and drink with others, you will lose the joy of life. no! I have to face this serious question...I can't even believe that I am so hesitant to ask it.

Finally, I attended. When I saw my classmate’s eldest sister, eldest brother-in-law, second sister, second sister’s child, third brother, and third sister-in-law, they all filed in. I unconsciously began to recall that childhood memory in my mind... I remembered that I often stayed in her living room watching cartoons and refused to go home. I remembered that as soon as her stern father showed up, the whole family would scatter, and I would hide too. In the corner of the room... my originally shaking heart actually started to smile along with my thoughts. I think God used a wonderful stitch to mend my gap, because the situation was not as bad as I thought. Since I was the only outsider, the New Year's Eve dinner was quite enjoyable. I learned a valuable lesson from this: sometimes, the attitude you use to eat is far more important than what you eat.

I have always liked the French female chef in the movie "Barbie's Feast" who spent all her lottery winnings just for a wonderful performance. But I know that there is another chef in life who is even crazier. He said this at the Last Supper:

"This is my body, given for you..."

"This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you..."

Being able to eat and drink is indeed a blessing in this world.

It is a blessing to be able to enhance the depth of eating and drinking, and to entertain each other in life.

As a Christian, Jesus died for me so that I could eat and drink Himself.

As a Christian who loves to eat and drink, my heart can’t wait for the extraordinary heavenly taste...

Author profile

Mai Neng, originally from Taiwan, now lives in Boston. Full-time artist working with media, painting, clay, cooking and storytelling. Love to observe and feel life.