Image credit lds.org
Can you remember the olden days when we’d say grace at the dinner table?
Haha, no not in my family either—but we’ve all seen it in the movies!
By saying grace, the intention was to bless the food and to be grateful for it.
Gratitude is a very powerful emotion. It releases dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin—all those good feeling hormones—into our body. When we’re grateful our body moves into the relaxation response which means our self-repair mechanisms work more efficiently and we digest the food more easily.
There are many other benefits to gratitude. When we’re grateful, we learn faster, we heal more quickly and we’re more receptive to change. Who doesn’t want more of that?
How to practice gratitude?
I encourage you, the next time you sit down to a meal, to remember that food is sacred.
Chances are if you’re eating, an animal died to provide for your nutrition.
Appreciate the food, perhaps by sending a prayer of gratitude—in your own mind—to the farmer who raised the crop, to the person who cooked the meal (even if it was you!) or the teenager who packed your groceries.
Grateful
Appreciate
Acknowledge
“Thank you for the food, thank you to my miraculous body for taking nutrition from this food, thank you… thank you…thank you.”
Remember to practice eating with a grateful heart and allow yourself to discover the power of counting your blessings!
Love etc, Avril
