The spirit of grace
A soft mantle of snow was still rising on bus shelters, window ledges and the concrete slabs of the city when bread and butter welcomed guests to eat.
What was to come simmered or rested in fragrant pieces, awaiting plates. We would dine on Poplar Bluff (Strathmore) potato gnocchi, Carmen Creek bison short ribs and surprisingly confectionary desserts built from Lund’s (Innisfail) carrots.
Before that, though, there would be grace. It was written by our new convivium leader dee Hobsbawn-smith who could not attend but sent her words to be read by Eric Giesbrecht, our new vice-president.
With dee’s grace, I was reminded of the spirit of Slow Food, of the idea of reverence for a meal prepared to delight, nourish, comfort and satiate the people who share it.
Of course, a grace is written to be read aloud before those gathered to eat. I asked dee if I could post her grace for those gathered electronically…
We eat from bowls. Each has a unique shape. And, as the designers say, form follows function.
Oatmeal-eating bowls are sturdy and wide-mouthed for early-morning messes.
Japanese tea bowls in a “summer” design have an open throat for quick cooling.
Winter bowls have a closed neck to retain heat.
Salsa in a cheery hand-painted flat bowl, for easy dipping.
Rice in a deep V, with indents for chopsticks.
For beauty, a virtual sea, blown from a mouthful of molten Venetian glass.
What a bowl is made of does not matter. Its emptiness does.
Like the waiting that precedes birthing any creativity, a bowl is a space waiting to be filled. Its potential is its beauty.
Tonight we will be literally filled with goodness, as prepared by chef liana from the wonderful foods that grow in our neighbourhood, from our friends, these fine growers.
Beyond that, we each choose to be filled too– with companionship, and love, and peace, and faith in something bigger than us, something to believe in.
We too are bowls, emptiness, waiting. How we choose, and what we choose, how we fill our selves, is a marker of our humanity.
Blessings on us all. Peace, plenty, joy…gratitude, and the will to do good.
dee h-s
Calgary
January 9, 2008
