Food for Thought

At the end of the summer of 1890, Claude Monet began an impressionist study of haystacks in fields of Giverny, France.  His flecks of colorful brushstrokes captured the changing angles of glinting sunlight on his subject in the morning, noon, and evening; in the summer, the fall, the winter and spring, in order to capture and represent how the same subject can take on a completely different look and feel depending on the sunlight.  

Monet's haystacks entered my mind this past weekend as I watched a sunset over the green hills of Harduf, in northeastern Israel.  The sun had passed beneath the mountains, but the light show had only just begun.  I was wrapped up in a warm sweater, with a mug of tea in hand against the chill and I watched the sky turn a vibrant, incandescent red and mute itself into a veil of deep, opulent lavender and I found myself reflecting on Monet's devotion and appreciation of the way light effects and landscape.  

For me, actually being in this location watching a sunset was quite surreal.  Two days earlier, I decided "what the hell", thrown a couple shirts in a backpack and joined the two Belgian filmmakers visiting us at Neve Eitan, on the road to Haifa.  The Belgians had been visiting Uri to make a documentary about wild edible plants and the connections they form between people in Israel, Jordan and the West Bank/Palestine. After 12 days of filming around Israel, they had gotten all the shots and interviews they needed, so now it was time for Ben to see a bit of the country and Jesse, to head home. 

As for myself, I was supposed to be attending a weekend retreat on Nonviolent Communication taking place at the Ecological House where I've been living.  I thought I'd make it back in time to participate the next morning, so we headed to Haifa for some sushi and beer before Jesse caught a train to Tel Aviv to for his flight and Ben and I stayed a night in a hostel in Haifa.    

Obviously, I wound up being completely wrong about making it back to Neve Eitan in time for Nonviolent Communicating.  Between technological malfunctions of two GPS devices and navigation based on guesswork, we didn't make it to the bus station and I joined Ben on the road to Harduf to visit some friends.  I have friends who live there too and had always wanted to visit, so it wasn't such a bad direction to be heading. 

Harduf is a community designed around the implementation of Anthropophy, a style of thought based on German philosopher Rudolf Steiner.  If you've ever visited a Waldorf school, then you're seeing Anthroposophy in action.  Arriving in Harduf is like making it to an island superimposed in Israel.  The entire society is dedicated to caring for each other, the earth and their neighbors.  There's a lot of cooperation between Harduf and its surrounding Arab neighbors.  

I met Ben's friends Nitsan and Lilach and their son Michael, then we all headed to a nearby Arab city, Shefar'am for hummus.  This was actually my first time visiting an Arab city, and I realized that I was actually a little nervous since so much time and energy has been spent not going to these places.  Everything turned out completely fine and we had some tasty hummus and strong Arab coffee.  

Wild, edible flowers in Harduf

Nitsan, Lilach and Michael took the two of us for a tour of the community where we saw the elementary school, high school and agricultural fields. Walking through fields with this group was a lot of fun.  Ben is a professional herbalist specializing in edible plants and running his own company for tours and catered meals in Belgium; Nitsan, Lilach and Michael are all practiced herbalists in the flora and fauna of the land around them.  So as we walked, someone would reach down and pick some shoots and leaves and say "Hey, you can eat this!" almost every yard.  

Nitsan, me, Michael and Lilach in front of a Harduf sunset

Really that's what it all comes down to: food and act of eating.  The ways in which we eat and drink together are an important aspect of being human and forming relationships.  These connections are so important, that the a transgression against it can be the motivation for nasty and brutish conflicts.  The Trojan War was partially caused by a breach in the traditions of breaking bread together and the guest-host relationship. When Paris kidnaps Helen from her husband Menelaus, Paris had been a guest in the house of Menelaus.  Ancient Greek society had very strict rules on the practice of hospitality and how the guest-host relationship was established surrounding the traditions of eating. A host welcomed his guest into his home in safety and did not ask his name or his purpose of visiting until after he had eaten and drank.  Once two people have supped together, they are bonded for life and do no harm to each other.  

Paris' infraction between the contract of sharing a meal together, caused a 10 year war and thousands of deaths, including his own.  So please, tip your waitress and think twice before you double-cross someone that you've had at your dinner table.

Food is such an amazing motivator, a force of interaction and experience. I used to say that I could tell if I'd be good friends with someone if they'd eat my mushrooms from my plate since they were not a food I liked. I am proud to announce that I have finally begun to eat them myself, so I'll have to find some other food based tell to determine friendships by. 

So many of my recent connections in Israel have been based around my desire to find like minded people who through eating and wanting to live a well balanced life.  My amazing travels and experiences from the past few weeks have all been possible because I had an inkling of a desire to find people who were knowledgeable and conscious about food.  It motivated me to find the Gilboa Cooperative and then lead me to Uri Mayer-Chissick's doorstep.  I've really made a community from all these different people who strive to eat better and live balanced lives.  Its given me the ability to travel to new cities, meet new people and feel welcomed at the dinner table. It's really driven me to places I never thought I could go for my own diet and lifestyle. 

Sunset in Harduf

Over the past weeks, I've been eating a predominately processed sugar-free, and whole wheat diet and I can honestly say that I feel pretty amazing. Not only does my body feel very strong and efficient, but I've felt able to trust myself and be open to new experiences. I've been having an adventure that I only dreamed of and thought was impossible for me. I didn't think I was brave, assertive, or capable enough to pull off this kind of independence and undertaking. But doors have opened and I walked through them.  I'm not going to lie, I've been having fun!  I can't remember the last time my lifestyle was devoted to conscious enjoyment of life. 

As I watched the light change on the landscape in Harduf, I reflected over food being a deus ex machina of good things in my life.  Eating is more than just a stimulation of your taste buds, mastication and the digestive process in order to fuel the body.  It does that and more; it's a whole body and mind experience that involves all of the senses being utilized. It can bring back memories, or create certain feelings inside you.  It can change your whole mindset and outlook on the world.