Going Hungry

ISLAND IMPRESSIONS BY FR. TOM PURDY, RECTOR OF CHRIST CHURCH

We seem to really dislike hunger. I’m talking about run of the mill hunger, which we can and do easily remedy with one form of consumption or another. The truth is that there is a wide disparity between those who hunger and can do nothing about it, and those of us who can do whatever is required to eradicate the feeling.

Hunger is a tricky feeling. We often misunderstand it. I’ve read that we often mistake thirst for hunger, meaning we eat too much food in an effort to satiate our hunger when what we really need is to drink a glass of water. We also can also screw up our body’s natural hunger signals over time. Hunger becomes relative; we are so used to food that we think we’re hungry when our body doesn’t actually need any fuel. Many of us lose the ability to truly know when we are full, and therefore, when to stop eating, which leads to overeating. Don’t believe me? Just review the obesity statistics in our country.

Come to think of it, it’s not just about food. We hunger for all sorts of things and don’t know when to quit. We have lost the ability to sense what “enough” feels and looks like. How many articles of clothing does someone need, for example? How many square feet is enough for a home? How many storage units is normal for housing surplus stuff? Is it a question of not knowing what enough is, or is it a question of confusing our hunger, like eating a snack instead of getting a drink?

I am aware that many people who will read this article don’t know real hunger, or at least haven’t known it in a long time. Perhaps some of us have gone through truly hunger-inducing periods in our lives at some point, but we can forget those feelings and experiences after years or decades of satiation. We grow used to buying the food we want, which is different than buying what we need. We get accustomed to purchasing almost whatever we need without having to tell ourselves “no,” or experience the longing or desire for something for longer than it takes to type in our credit card number and submit our order (or swipe our card, for those who still shop in brick and mortar stores). Even the shipping speeds of many retailers are designed to eliminate the hunger associated with waiting on the UPS truck to pull up. Thank you, Amazon Prime.

So, what do we do with this information? What is the point? It’s not to make ourselves feel bad or guilty that we aren’t hungry, and that we can provide and procure most anything we want. Awareness is the key. Being aware that our appetites might be a bit skewed can help us rethink the way we live and the way we orient our lives. Subtle changes can take place when In our household, we have a large wooden “gracedie.” On each of the six sides is a short grace to be said before meals. Our kids take turns rolling the die and praying one of the prayers (or freestyling one). One of the prayers, which I had been unfamiliar with prior to the die, captured and continues to capture my every time it comes up: “God, bless this food we are about to receive. Give bread to those who hunger, and hunger for charity and justice to us who have bread. Amen.” It is an acknowledgement that we have blessings, and also a call to seek similar actions for those who may not enjoy such blessings.

Jesus’ answer, when asked about the greatest commandment, was to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. As I’ve explored this commandment with others (and for myself), the latter means wanting the same for our neighbors that we want for ourselves; wanting the same thing for our neighbor’s children that we want for our own, etc. That is what love is; that is the root of love that we are called to. If and when we do that, I have a hunch that our concept of “enough” may start to shift a bit. We who are rarely hungry, truly hungry, are to count our blessings and seek to bless others. Perhaps we’ll realize what things we are truly hungry for, spiritually, and stop overconsuming on junk. Maybe we’ll learn to hunger and thirst for things that become blessings to others. It is possible to feel hungry and do more with the feeling than reach for our fork, our credit cards, or the other things that won’t ultimately take our hunger away.

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