Another week to CNY

Last saturday, I asked my yoga teacher what is the schedule for the week of CNY? She told me that she have not thought about about it and will inform us next week and the classes will most probably be cancelled during the festive week. This is usually the case. I was worried as there will be too much eating and definitely, we will be puting on weight. I told my sister today that we should cut down the quantity of food provided to our family members during New Year gatherings. It is actually a waste and we eat for the sake of eating and without any purpose.

This has been the way of life for our family for many generations. My late mother always cook alot of food during the re-union dinner and the balance of food can last us for another one week or more. The same food was served over and over after re-cooking several times and it ends up as " a food residue" where all the food is place in a pot to cook like a Japanese Shabu-shabu (mixed food disk) with salted vegetables. Come to think about it, we really enjoy the food and childhood when we can eat as much of the same food all over again.

This tradition was transferred to my sister and it has been this way since the passing of my mother. But, we realized that we should stop as it is not only unhealthy but also wasteful. To finish the food, we have to force ourself to eat until our stomach is stretch to its limit while we feel sick and sluggish. Now, we realized that it was foolhardy to follow this tradition and the right way is to take our time to eat and chew our food more thoroughly. We should feel the taste and let the food melt in our mouth. If we are 70% full, we should stop eating and we should eat a few times a day and in this slow and chewful manner.

This week, we have been spending our time to buy all the ingredients to prepare the food and I could sense that the purpose of the festival is getting more meaningful. It is about getting together and enjoying the food on the table. Not just eating while our thoughts are far apart and should chase away the unhappiness. Whatever happen or said wrongly or any wrong interpretation and unintentional wrongful act, lets wipe it off from our mind. We should start afresh with the New Year.

So for all of you folks, lets start all over again in the spirit of truthfulness and the caring and love for our loved ones and all the living beings on this earth.

Namaste.