Gratitude for Food

"When we eat and look deeply into our food, we are in the company of many beings: the plants, animals, and people whose life energy was poured into the food on our plate. According to the Zen teachings, each time we eat, we take in the life energy of countless beings into our bodies. The food on our plate is a product of the sun, the earth, the rain, the insects who pollinate the plants, and of many people, including farmers, truck drivers, and grocers. This energy, which is the product of so many beings, courses through our body, propelled by every beat of our heart. It travels to the the farthest cells, to our toenails, and to the tips of our hair. These beings literally become us, our blue or brown eyes, our soft lips, our hard white teeth, our loving heart. This daily miracle of transubstantiation occurs in our bodies, day and night." Jan Chozen Bay.