Right now, in conjunction with figuring out a far more healthy diet, I am also obsessed with Indian food. Oooooooohhhh baby... num num num.
SO I've started looking into recipes and the traditional manner in which to prepare certain Indian dishes I have come to like over time.... which today found me talking to a friend, who is Indian, and whose parents are native to India.
In the course of our conversation today she was sharing that Indian cooking is pretty much an all consuming task. You cook from sun up until sun down, well, the females do, and the men tend to the crops, livestock, etc. By the time you have prepared a dish, eaten the meal, and cleaned up, it is time to start the NEXT meal of the day.
And as a side note, she mentions, "Well... it's what they DO. They're not really, you know, educated."
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....
Isn't it amazing how ONE sentence can just cause your brain to go into a tail spin of thought???
Ok, maybe not yours, but it sure did mine :)
As I've been dissecting my relationship with food, and our lifestyle at the same time, that ONE sentence really struck me as odd.
That one statement holds A LOT of truth.... A truth that, in the past, I have viewed as negative. But now I think, why? Why is being NOT educated so negative?
The truth is that yes, many uneducated people spend a lot of their time doing SIMPLE things. They live their lives for the fulfillment of their basic bodily needs. They tend the crops, and they spend a daytime preparing the meals. They use ingredients that are on hand and mostly local. They spend GOOD QUALITY time preparing nutritious and unprocessed meals. Meals made from scratch and with, I can only assume, raw and organic ingredients. Those uneducated people spend time together in meal preparation talking, sharing, and bonding. They also spend time outside doing healthy and honest work, in the sun and in the dirt. They are physically active. (Yes, gardening is a very physical activity... and if you doubt me, grow one, I dare you too.)
The flip side of this truth? Well let's see.... I'm educated. And I can certainly tell you what this education has done to me.... My education was so that I could have a job. This job in turn provides me with money, that I spend on food at the grocery store, mostly on food that is NOT raw, organic, nor nutritious in nature. My education has reduced the time in which I can prepare these meals as well... since being educated leads to being involved in many other activities outside of a job. Let's just keep it going now.... where did I get my education? Well I'm so glad you asked! I received an education that is controlled by our government. This is also the same government that controls most of the production of the most unhealthy foods I eat! Anyone ever wonder WHY the government created a food pyramid that says we should eat mostly grains? Think about it peoples... where do you think corn/wheat/soy farmers receive their subsidies from?
Yep, I'm THAT educated. And so are you!
I also find it absolutely amazing that the MORE I keep educating myself, the more I realize how being UNeducated might have it's glowing points. Now I must step back a tad bit here.... I'm not saying, gee, I wish I was raised stupid. I am very thankful I have an education.
BUT in looking at these uneducated practices.... I want to learn from them, not shame them. I want to dissect if they are TRULY uneducated, or if they are actually more intelligent in some ways then we are in Western societies. Research is proving that some of these uneducated people actually DO hold the key... they are called Blue Zones in case you are wondering... in these Blue Zones... these uneducated and poor people actually live healthier, live longer, have very little stress, and live a full and happy life.
Now how about that?
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