For many, food plays a significant role in holiday traditions. And even as interpretations of these traditions evolve and mature (thankfully), the fragrant, savory abundance of breaking bread is still central to our shared rituals of gratitude, remembering, hope and love. So with the holidays upon us, there’s no better time than now to talk about food. Food and the unfixed, that is. I know what you might be thinking. This is going to be yet another episode about nutrition—an anti-inflammatory, rolled in chia seed, kale manifesto. But for the unfixed, food is also community. Food is comfort. Food is ritual, meditation, communication and joy. It can also be isolation and pain —a plastic bag of nutrients administered through a feeding tube or a burrito that sends us to the ER. For some, a trip to the grocery store requires a nap in the parking lot before safely driving home. For others, restaurants with bright lights and noisy crowds can be nightmarish. And of course, we can't talk about food without addressing our culture's obsession with it. Our dysfunctional ideals of beauty. Our food dogma. Our privilege. In this Unfixed episode, we hear it all. If I’ve learned one, cardinal truth living unfixed, it's this: the two-headed monster of adversity is intrinsic to our vitality. One head spits fire. The other, sings. The agony can't be severed from the ecstasy. So this holiday season, let's lean into the full catastrophe and celebrate this paradox of our existence, starting with food. So without further ado, I present, FOOD: THE AGONY & ECSTASY. (And when you’re finished watching, queue up Unfixed podcast: Sustaining Ourselves, Sustaining Others for a deeper conversation on sustenance between award-winning author and Elizabeth Jameson.)Unfixed video
This is so interesting to me - the way as a society we obsess over food, so often for "beauty" reasons, as a corollary to body issues, so centered around food-as-guilt and denial - but the stories in this video show people with serious health issues and diet considerations, and they are talking about the enjoyment and sensuality of it (and about the frustration of not always being able to eat comfortably.) Very thought provoking.
Yeh, food is so layered with meaning! When I watch my cats eat the same damn tin of pâté day after day after day (and with great enthusiasm), I have to wonder, “What would they add to this conversation?”
I like how this exemplifies the idea that “living well is not about eradicating our wounds and weaknesses but understanding how they complete our identities and equip us to help others.”x
@KimberlyWarner Omg. This video is ... I'm at a loss for words. In this time of food, I will never think about it in the same way. Thank you, Kimberly for this transformational gift.
I’m so happy to hear this resonated. The “food” conversation in the media is quite one-dimensional so I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to curate this diversity of perspectives. ❤️
1) Peanut Butter and her description of how she eats it, the sensuality of it and the pleasure she clearly gets from it. Reminded of me when I was very little. Living in a small one bedroom apartment with my mom. I would wait for her to get home from work after school. I would climb up in a chair, get a spoon and dip it in the smooth peanut butter jar. I would then tuck the spoon upside down in my mouth, sit in front of the TV and savour my peanut butter spoon snack for hours. Sometimes that would be dinner too. Wow, this brought back memories.
2) Dylan - what can I say. I love him. He is presence personified. I cried my eyes out at the end of this video.
Thank you Nadia for taking a moment to listen and watch. Sounds like some of the voices struck a chord. What a mysterious and unnerving experience you had with food! So glad to hear that's behind you.
I hope you’re never looking at broccoli and peanut-butter at the same time though. That sounds like an awful dish.🤣
I needed this today and I will never look at broccoli 🥦 and peanut butter the same again LOVE it
This is so interesting to me - the way as a society we obsess over food, so often for "beauty" reasons, as a corollary to body issues, so centered around food-as-guilt and denial - but the stories in this video show people with serious health issues and diet considerations, and they are talking about the enjoyment and sensuality of it (and about the frustration of not always being able to eat comfortably.) Very thought provoking.
Yeh, food is so layered with meaning! When I watch my cats eat the same damn tin of pâté day after day after day (and with great enthusiasm), I have to wonder, “What would they add to this conversation?”
I like how this exemplifies the idea that “living well is not about eradicating our wounds and weaknesses but understanding how they complete our identities and equip us to help others.”x
@KimberlyWarner Omg. This video is ... I'm at a loss for words. In this time of food, I will never think about it in the same way. Thank you, Kimberly for this transformational gift.
I’m so happy to hear this resonated. The “food” conversation in the media is quite one-dimensional so I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to curate this diversity of perspectives. ❤️
So many things I love. But here's two.
1) Peanut Butter and her description of how she eats it, the sensuality of it and the pleasure she clearly gets from it. Reminded of me when I was very little. Living in a small one bedroom apartment with my mom. I would wait for her to get home from work after school. I would climb up in a chair, get a spoon and dip it in the smooth peanut butter jar. I would then tuck the spoon upside down in my mouth, sit in front of the TV and savour my peanut butter spoon snack for hours. Sometimes that would be dinner too. Wow, this brought back memories.
2) Dylan - what can I say. I love him. He is presence personified. I cried my eyes out at the end of this video.
Thank you Nadia for taking a moment to listen and watch. Sounds like some of the voices struck a chord. What a mysterious and unnerving experience you had with food! So glad to hear that's behind you.