Postmortem 51

I have been reviewing some of my travel journal from Colombia three months ago and I can best conclude that what I have been through since then has been a kind of reconversion.  I suppose it could be said that this has been my liberation from the church, in this case, Anglican.  I have gone over and over the issues, and I think it's time to give it a bit of a rest.

However...

I did have a conversation today with a friend who is very much in the Anglican Church and it is interesting how the simplest matters can betray class differences of privilege that really still do divide us.  I was asked if I was in solitary confinement and I could only choose three foods that I could eat, what would I choose.  I wasn't sure how to answer, so I deferred. My friend assumed that one would choose their favourite foods, things they would never get tired of.  I replied that I would be more interested in nutrition and health, so I would like my choices to be as healthy as possible  When I was asked if I wouldn't get tired of eating the same thing every day, I replied that if that was the only food I had to survive on then I could easily grow to enjoy it no matter how long I would have to eat it.  I would find it all absolutely delicious

It quickly became apparent that my friend has never had to really do without, and for that reason has always had a range of choices unknown to me when it comes to eating, even if this person really does believe that they have had to do without at times.  I have never had much in the way of choice, since being on a lower income has always limited my choice of food.  I have never gone hungry, and have always been well-nourished, but living on a low income has long taught me to give priority to economy, nutrition and utility when it comes to eating.  This has also turned me into a creative and better than average cook, because I have had to learn to make the best possible meals out of very little.    I have seldom been spoiled for choice when opening the fridge, but have always tried to make the best use out of my narrow range of food selections.  So, when I think of food, I don't think of the pleasure of eating, I think of nutrition. Pleasure always comes after, but come it does.

It is impossible to explain to someone who has never done without, who has never walked in your shoes, just how different our life perspectives and experiences are going to be, and I have learned to stop wasting my breath or energy at trying to educate the unteachable.  They are simply not going to get it.  And since the Anglican Church is almost exclusively made up of people who are blinded by and to their inborn privilege, I have opted to simply walk away and continue serving Christ in the poverty he has made so beautiful.

By the way, these are the three foods I would choose:  whole wheat bread, broccoli and a good aged cheese, either white cheddar or Asiago.  These are foods I eat every day, and because they are so good, nourishing, wholesome and simple, I never have and likely never will grow tired of eating them.