Day 12: infinite gratitude

Today just before dark the groceries I ordered last Sunday arrived. I carefully disinfected them all, including these beautiful yellow squash, which I washed in soapy water and rinsed very thoroughly. I am cooking two of them as I write this. I am on fire with gratitude for the perfection of the squash, for the miracle of every tin and packet. The prayer Thich Nhat Hanh suggested for Vietnamese Buddhists to say before eating is this: "This food is the gift of the whole universe: the sky, the earth, and much hard work. We are grateful." I have said it for years, but never have I thought so much as I have this week about the people who grow the food, the people who harvest it, those who drive it to the market, and those who place it on the shelves. Today I am also grateful to those who are shopping for others, risking their health to earn a little money and provide others with food. The young woman who shopped for me and delivered the food is named Megan, and I gave her an N95 mask and ten dollars for a tip. I wish I could have given her more.

At 7 when the bells started ringing and the people hollering and banging and clapping, I took a pan and a spoon to my window and beat it for all I am worth, tears streaming down my face. We have so many people to thank. Our world is so complicated and interwoven that we can ignore, if we are not careful, the many who work to make our dinners possible, and the many who lack the privilege and the wealth that would provide them with four absolutely perfect yellow squash.