sugar...delicious, satisfying in moments, crippling in others.
today my meditation was/is on sugar, the sordid history of its production, distribution and consumption and its absorption by populations around the world in daily life, celebrations and various cultural expressions.
i remember the lands that were stolen throughout what we now call the Caribbean and Americas. lands on which families, communities and nations once thrived. lands whose ecosystems were once healthy and diverse. lands that, because of corporate greed, were cleared for acres, for miles to make way for the cultivation of a single crop.
my prayer is for the healing of these lands and ecosystems.
i remember the people native to the stolen lands and stolen from their native lands. people whose historical and ancient relationships with their lands and with one another on their lands were severed. people forced into enslavement to produce a mono-crop for export. people whose lives and families were forcibly taken and destroyed along the way.
my prayer is healing for the souls of all those harmed in the formation and expansion of this industrial system.
i remember the conditions and moment in history into which i was born and raised. a poor black girl in poor black neighborhoods with easy access to sugary stuff. beautiful strong women surrounded me. beautiful strong women that struggled with depression, poverty, obesity and a variety of health challenges. sugar provided comfort for them. and i learned as i got older that it would provide comfort to me.
my prayer is that those who turn to sugar for comfort discover, in their own time, healthier ways to work through challenges and heal.
i remember the stresses and challenges of work, relationships and life and the comfort sugar offered when i opened myself up to this kind of support. i remember feeling as though i could handle this because i was healthy and strong. i remember the habits that developed over time and the subsequent weight gain, physical aches and pains and reduction of exercise...because of the stress and weight gain and pain.
i remember this cycle.
i want to break this cycle.
today i remove sugar from my diet.
my prayer is for the strength to move through the day, the discipline to resist consumption and the courage to work through the issues that arise.
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| From The Barbaric History of Sugar in America |
i remember the lands that were stolen throughout what we now call the Caribbean and Americas. lands on which families, communities and nations once thrived. lands whose ecosystems were once healthy and diverse. lands that, because of corporate greed, were cleared for acres, for miles to make way for the cultivation of a single crop.
my prayer is for the healing of these lands and ecosystems.
i remember the people native to the stolen lands and stolen from their native lands. people whose historical and ancient relationships with their lands and with one another on their lands were severed. people forced into enslavement to produce a mono-crop for export. people whose lives and families were forcibly taken and destroyed along the way.
my prayer is healing for the souls of all those harmed in the formation and expansion of this industrial system.
i remember the conditions and moment in history into which i was born and raised. a poor black girl in poor black neighborhoods with easy access to sugary stuff. beautiful strong women surrounded me. beautiful strong women that struggled with depression, poverty, obesity and a variety of health challenges. sugar provided comfort for them. and i learned as i got older that it would provide comfort to me.
my prayer is that those who turn to sugar for comfort discover, in their own time, healthier ways to work through challenges and heal.
i remember the stresses and challenges of work, relationships and life and the comfort sugar offered when i opened myself up to this kind of support. i remember feeling as though i could handle this because i was healthy and strong. i remember the habits that developed over time and the subsequent weight gain, physical aches and pains and reduction of exercise...because of the stress and weight gain and pain.
i remember this cycle.
i want to break this cycle.
today i remove sugar from my diet.
my prayer is for the strength to move through the day, the discipline to resist consumption and the courage to work through the issues that arise.
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