I sometimes wonder what cave people ate. I mean, they would’ve had the ultimate healthy diet, wouldn’t they? It would have had to be completely free from any artificial, packaged, processed or chemically altered foods. Eating healthy wouldn’t have been a concept to them, they would have just…eaten, and by the very nature of what was available, it would have been fresh, local, and seasonal.
I’m sitting in a restaurant in Inverness. Glancing down the chic menu, I note five, no six separate options that focus on wild food themes. They include a chanterelle omelet, loin of venison, salad with wild berries, and even one with a nettle reduction. I am struck by a strange irony that these dishes are notably more expensive than the others. And this wild food (perhaps with the exception of the meat), in theory, is free for the taking! I am drawn in by the lure of something so fresh, so primitive, that it can be called “wild.” Even though I was walking through the woods that very morning, gathering edibles, I order the mushroom starter and I can’t resist trying the nettle reduction.
I often find myself musing how we live in such strange times. A vast number of us, in the Western world, pay large sums of money to sit in an artificially created environment, and eat something that epitomizes nature. We spend large quantities of time sitting at computers, then pay to use a gym for exercise. How did we get so far away from a simple, healthy lifestyle?
I live in an intentional community in Northern Scotland. The reasons for moving here were numerous, but among them was my intense yearning to live cleanly, simply, and healthfully. Even here, it is easy to fall into the all-too-familiar cycle of work too much, not have spare time, pay someone to do outdoor work & child-minding, etc. But I am here for a different way. And so I push through the fatigue, strap my baby daughter on my back, and begin hoeing in the garden. She is enthralled and soon the rhythmic movement lulls her to sleep.
Back at home, I begin washing some freshly harvested carrots to make a soup. My daughter wakes while I am chopping, and I sing a song to her. She is entranced by the carrots going into the big pot. She giggles at something I don’t see. I feed her while the soup simmers, engulfed by the sweet earthy richness and herby fragrances coming from the stove. Lunch is as simple as it gets, a carrot and fresh herb soup straight from the garden, accompanied by a chunk of fresh bread that a friend made. I feel satisfied, content, healthy.
Not all days are like this, of course. This is one of the good ones. It’s one of the days I’ve wanted to create in my life for so many years. More of my days are like this lately – I’d love all of them to be, but I’m still working on balancing my Western mindset and upbringing with living a truly simple lifestyle. Healthy eating and living incorporate all of this. I am aware that my obstacles are in my mind, as much as they are entrenched in society. And so I plug on, striving to manifest more and more simplicity in my life.
When I returned from a walk on the beach yesterday, I found a council tax bill waiting for me in my mailbox. Oy, another