Sunshine Energy in Unlimited Flavors

All our food, in the end, is sunlight that has been gathered up by the green leaves of plants and rearranged into something a body can take in. If the system had been built only for survival, one fruit and one vegetable would have been enough.

Instead, the world hands us thousands. Avocados, figs, mangoes, kale, peas, pomegranates, the whole long catalogue — each with its own taste, its own colour, its own season. None of this was strictly necessary. It was given, it seems, simply as a kindness.

To notice this, even briefly, is itself a small spiritual act. Gratitude, the bhakti tradition suggests, begins right here, at the table, with whatever is in the bowl in front of us.

Om Tat Sat. Adapted from a reflection by Vaisesika Dasa.