Sustenance

Definitely one of the simplest recipes in the book.

And so Lent continues, and bread such as the above is becoming one of my new best friends. Not just because it falls into simple eating, but because my new status as professional and important writer (sadly not my real job title) means that I'm doing a bit of creative thinking about the simple staple that we so often take for granted.

The fact that I wowed my colleagues with today (wowed is, perhaps, a slight exaggeration...) is that we purchase around 12 million loaves of bread every day. EVERY DAY. I was wowed, anyway as it's probably one of the most boring things you can eat. Yet we do a lot with the stuff, evidently, although I think it's rare that anyone decides that they're going to have two plain pieces for their lunch.

I could probably write a series of blog posts on the topic, but I've most recently been reflecting on the simple idea that it connects us as humans. We're a diverse bunch, with our many nations, backgrounds and cultures. Yet across the globe, bread exists in varying forms. It's just flour and water, at its simplest, but it creates something that most countries can identify with - something that we claim ownership of. It's sustaining, it's satisfying, it fills us when we're hungry. It's no wonder that Jesus said he was the bread of life. That's something we can all get our heads around. We all understand what it is to be satisfied and bread is good at filling our hungry bodies.

I've been recognising, yet again, that it's the basic things I take for granted and we don't really know how much we have until it's taken away. I've done various challenges over my years as a human, but that doesn't mean that my no cake rule is any easier. But it does mean I have a new found appreciation for those staple foods that sustain us; that keep us going and make our stomachs happy.

I challenge you to think about the food that you consume - I don't often make such bold statements in this space, but this is something I think we really need to get our heads around.

There are 7 billion people on our planet and food is something we all need. Yet we don't all get enough, and it's because some of us have an abundance without realising while others don't realise there's an abundance.

Think differently:

For 5 days, spend £5 on all of your shopping. Go HERE and make it happen.
Once a month, fast for the day and think about how the world's climate is changing. Go HERE and make it happen.

Or challenge yourself to live without a luxury food item for a day. Or just bake a loaf of bread and reflect on its simplicity.

To do justice well, we need to understand the need. Something I'm re-realising all over again. And this week's definition sums it up perfectly:

Sustenance: "the maintaining of someone or something in life or existence."