Sofia Perez
I want to have something to say. But what is something-to-say? It’s that thing we only allegedly earn once we have a Phd in astrophysics, have wrestled five tigers with only one arm, have skipped seven grades for being a child prodigy, have survived world wars, or lived shipwrecked on a tiny island in the Pacific before being miraculously rescued only to write a New York Times bestseller and make millions as a motivational speaker. Having-something-to-say means I have been through enough to be an expert by now.
Now this is all very well if you live an exotic life of adventure or have reached the highest ranks of academia. Unfortunately though I have not, and I still have-something-to-say. So do you and so do we all, because we are all here together, and nobody is ever a sage in everything. Words are a powerful driving force of human history, because when everyone’s ideas can be shared, society flourishes.
I have something else to say. It has to do with food. The first thing is that food is vastly underappreciated and perverted. The relationship it has with health has grown toxic. The second thing is that cultures are dying all over the world and with them there is a loss of ideas, which threatens an understanding of food and nature. The third thing is that these two problems are linked for one very big reason: they both bridge a gap between the rest of the world and the depths of our soul. When the framework of society becomes centralized, connection is lost. So when we repair connections in one way, we are building up our capacity for it in other parts of life as well. Connection to culture means revitalizing a connection to the planet, which is important for wellbeing. However, the fourth thing I have to say is quite simple: words and food bring joy. No matter who you are or what atrocious things you have done, you deserve joy.
It is entirely possible to force-feed statistics on the topic, but there is really no need. Joy is understood on a level impossible to put into words, and yet intricately tied to the connection words bring. It is embodied in the rays of morning sunshine glittering on the dewdrops that have collected on your bedroom window, in the way the loves of your life smile and laugh at your stupid jokes. It is mundane pleasantries, like the warmth of a freshly-baked cookie or the smell of freshly-fallen rain. It is the embrace of bed sheets at the end of a turbulent day. Joy is half the love and gratitude that makes life worth living.
For now though, let’s talk about food. Not the socioeconomic impacts of the modern day food system nor the impacts it has on the environment. Let’s talk about the experience of sitting down to eat for a big family celebration, overwhelmed by the abundance of options, people, and potentially the abundance of drama. Think of eating a meal cooked by people who care about you, being offered twelve different desserts even though you’re about to bust the top button of your jeans. Picture digesting your meal over boisterous laughter and timeless memories, reliving all the ridiculous things your life has shown you that once made you cry but now make you laugh. Let’s talk about food as a vehicle of love.
Michalou, N. (n.d.). [Online Image] Pexels. Available at: https://www.pexels.com/photo/top-view-of-a-family-praying-before-christmas-dinner-5779170/ [Accessed 19 Jul. 2022].
I say this because food is not just about the nitty-gritty biochemical composition of every low-fat, high-sugar, no-sugar, good fat, bad fat, organic, grass-fed piece of edible matter in a supermarket. In my opinion, the opinion of someone who has-something-to-say, it is only after accepting this that the mind can settle on a holistic solution to the problems at hand.
That brings me to the other half of the love and gratitude that makes life worth living, and that is sorrow. Yes, sorrow makes life worth living, and it is in sorrow uniquely that the vibrant colors of life become the most present. It is about giving the heart permission to hurt, to let the pain of living flow freely out of the body as it must. It is also sorrow that will bring us to acknowledge what we have lost.
Now I have one final thing to say, and I mean really say (for now), and that is directly to you, dear loyal reader, because if my words and ideas mean anything, it is based on what they mean to you. I want to tell you that you are worthy of the love and gratitude of a thousand hugs and a life full of comforting home-cooked meals. You deserve connection and community. You deserve big family meals that end in laughter and tears, maybe both at the same time. And finally, you deserve sorrow and joy. You deserve a beautiful emotional connection to the food you eat everyday and the people you enjoy it with. You deserve the privilege of having-something-to-say. And that privilege has always been yours.
Beautiful Untranslatable Words
| Word | Language | Meaning |
| Pochemushka | Russian | A person who asks too many questions |
| Gökotta | Swedish | To wake up early in the morning with the purpose of going outside to hear the first birds sing |
| Aware | Japanese | The bittersweetness of a brief and fading moment of transcendent beauty |
| Utepils | Norwegian | To sit outside on a sunny day enjoying a beer |
| Mamihlapinatapei | Yagan | A wordless yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start |
| Won | Korean | The reluctance on a person’s part to let go of an illusion |
| Schadenfreude | German | Enjoyment obtained from the misery of others |
| Wabi-sabi | Japanese | Accepting the natural cycle of growth and decay |
Thought-to-Action
- Support local business by attending a local’s farmer’s market.
- Reconnect with what you’re eating by sharing your meals with other people, including those who can’t cook for themselves.
- Contribute to a food-sharing initiative near you.
- Try some culinary traditions recognised by UNESCO.
- Use one untranslatable word today.
Bibliography
The Language Nerds. (2021). 30 Untranslatable Words From Other Languages (Illustrated). | THE LANGUAGE NERDS. [online] Available at: https://thelanguagenerds.com/2021/30-untranslatable-words-from-other-languages-illustrated/ [Accessed 19 Jul. 2022].
Dec 2019, A.L.D. / 18 (2019). How to Resurrect Dying Languages. [online] SAPIENS. Available at: https://www.sapiens.org/language/language-revitalization/.
Yamisha, J. (2019). The Challenges of Preserving and Reviving Endangered Minority Languages. [online] The Glossika Blog. Available at: https://ai.glossika.com/blog/the-challenges-of-preserving-and-reviving-endangered-minority-languages?utm_source=en_in_blog&utm_medium=preserving_endangered_languages_guest_post [Accessed 1 Jun. 2022].
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