I've been wondering about this for a while, and have some thoughts, but it's such an interesting question (to me, at least) that I thought I'd send it out to whoever is out there before cataloguing my own thoughts on the matter:
Why am I always thinking about / talking about / yearning for treyf (non-kosher food, especially pork, shrimp and oysters)??
Answer honestly, openly and creatively, just be nice, alright? Wanderingstu is feeling a bit tender lately.
9 comments:
i am sure you know the answer to your question. but what is the point? it's an easy question to answer. (eg, desire is the cause of all suffering, attempts to soothe an activated nervous system, fear of ..., yearning to fill the void left by ..., unmet need ..., repressed ..., feeling unworthy of ... the point is living the answer, and not just knowing the answer. all those kinds of questions really come down to the same fundamental, right? now what that thing is... maybe it's a little different for all of us and maybe not. being. acceptance. in various forms. i think that's why psychology (eg, a good therapist) and spirituality are wedded and lead to our greatest potential. you go boy.
you're kidding, right? you mention the most delicious of foods and then ask why you miss them? no brainer. as my rabbi says:
there are few things more yummy than bacon.
i think it's really cool that your yetzer harah is wasting so much energy on something that is so much less accessible to you than many other things.
and maybe it's cuz you're hanging out w/ all the health-food freaks in bat ayin.
honestly, when I first lived in nachlaot seven years ago, when I left i rediscovered that food could be healthy AND really taste good.
As much as I love all the health-food freaks in nachlaot and bat ayin..(or CO,CA,VT etc) you can't honestly truly say that kinwa (sp?) or any of its ilk is tasty.
It's got nothing on a carvell ice-cream cake, real pizza, or dunkin donuts, or any other (american) junk food.
Any brushes I've had with non-kosher food were very limited so I can't tell you what bacon tastes like..
but I'm sure if you have been trying to follow the eating ideals of the community you're living in, you're probably just looking for food your mind doesn't have to tell your mouth is tasty.
First...I'd like to thank you again for a wonderful Shabbat and Purim. You are living in a very special place. It was great to hang with you.
As to the food...I can only speak for myself. Having given up shellfish, pork, oysters, etc., I am happy I tried them...if only to know that, while they are tasty, I don't need them to live a fulfilling life...There's lots of stuff out there that makes life more enjoyable. Not all of it is good for you physically or spiritually.
That said, I have no idea why quinoa doesn't taste as good as bacon yet is better for you. As a preventive medicine doctor, my job would be much easier if exercise, proper nutrition and the avoidance of dangerous vices were more appealing.
Tis a great mystery. Why must we "control" ourselves (or the yetzer harah)?
I'd love to learn more about *that*
At least we get alcohol...I feel bad for my Muslim friends.
Be well, my friend.
Jim
Okay, first of all, you know what my grandmother makes in our family's Matzah Ball soup, so I may be speaking from a strictly southern point. However, I do know that, while my husband gave up almost all of his vices and things that I asked him to give up when we first became an item(due to very important reasons at the time) the one thing he refused to give up(and still does) is bacon. He's a soul food junkie! oh yeah!!!
I would tell you to give yourself a break and go have a great bacon cheeseburger, but I also wouldn't think you're less spiritually inclined or spiritually connected for doing so. However, I'm not living in a Yeshiva in Bat Ayin!
Have a groove!!!
I think that this might be my fault.
I recently told Stu that after 10 years of keeping strictly Kosher (& living a Bat Ayin Orthodox lifestyle)I no longer was keeping anything anymore.
I also told him that my recent brunch of eggs benedict with fried oysters was like finding the missing link in my life.
I do not feel guilty. I feel happy and liberated. However joyous a life of halacha can be led, and I have been part of that ultimate exhuberance, it can also be painfully oppressive.
Not everybody grows spiritually from denying themselves the most basic joys in life.
Ah...oysters
"benedict",
sounds like you are into something pretty interesting of late. THAT i'd love to hear about. perhaps you'll blog about it elsewhere?
Perhaps your body is craving nutrients, something it was accustomed to getting from pork, shrimp and oysters. Could it be you need iodine?
Seriously, are you sure you're getting all your vitamins, protein and all that good stuff?
If basic nutrition isn't the answer, then my advice as an untrained and unqualified psychologist is: treat this like a test that you may or may not want to pass.
Maybe you're subconsciously trying sabotage your commitment to kosher. Do you need to escape something?
Or maybe you've lost the motivation that once made your kosher diet exciting, if not quite easy.
I wouldn't get all dramatic right away and say this is an existential crisis. It could just be everyday, run of the mill boredom. But maybe there is something missing, something that has very little to do with pork or oysters--a source of inspiration and optimism.
Then again, maybe you're just not getting enough sleep.
Post a Comment