It’s nearing the end of the day and as the sun dips below the skyline, washing the glow of the late afternoon in cerulean haze, I settle down to the hum of my laptop and the whirring of cars outside; Karen’s balmy voice welcomes me back. This is a regular routine on days when I know I have contemplative practice which, in sum, is an attempt to integrate one’s somatic experience during information consumption to sharpen focus and increase retention, or in other words: navigate and conquer the whole of distractions your body is fighting against! 

I remember the Living Systems practice very well, as I found this method not only helped me remember things said during the video more than I usually would, but also heightened my emotional responses. I found myself absorbing the message in an empathetic sense. A despair settled loosely in my heart when the visualization of complex, reciprocal systems of life clashed with my seasoned and learned individualism; the mention of embedding myself in social systems especially stung, as this crisis has made it difficult to escape the immediacy of my own four-hundred square foot system. Yet, each feeling passed like a cloud in the sky, speaking to Karen’s claim that deep contemplation can help offset distress and distraction when dealing with heavy topics. I found myself dialing my mom after, maybe not entirely out of my own will.

Via Springhouse Community School

Post-exercise, I tend to engage with things- living and nonliving, distant and nearby- with more attention and care⏤ although, the speed and quality of information I tend to consume casually can quickly unravel this. I’d be open to continuing this practice regularly for myself. Something silly struck me about these exercises in early April. I was a bit too skittish, not willing to keep my eyes closed for more than 10 seconds at a time. Now I find it’s added a richness to both personal and academic aspects of my life. 

During this time marked by unpredictability and unease, I have found it increasingly difficult to feel focused and centered. My mind is often scattered and future-oriented, obsessed with planning and a seemingly endless to-do list. The contemplative practices have allowed me to slow down, and digest my own experience. As a participant in our capitalist society, I have been trained to take in and consume as much information as possible. I have felt an internal and external pressure to be achieving something at all times, and fill my schedule with enough activities to deem a day “productive”. I have been able to really reevaluate and think about what is important to me. I value community and connection, and participating in the practices has made me more grounded. I have also felt a greater connectedness to the world around me. The practices have helped me increase my systemic thinking, which will be necessary when considering solutions to the many issues of our food system. To think of solutions for mitigating the climate crisis in the context of our agriculture system requires a systemic approach. While one solution such as eliminating fertilizer use on farms may make ecological sense, it is critical to also consider the livelihoods and exude compassion towards the farmers involved.

There is immense hypocrisy revealed especially during the global pandemic, as undocumented farm workers are the backbone to our agricultural food system have no protections provided to them yet are deemed “essential”. Through reflection and my increased conscientious, I have also developed a greater appreciation towards the people and work involved that go into producing food.

Photo source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/02/us/coronavirus-undocumented-immigrant-farmworkers-agriculture.html

This is the first class I’ve ever taken where the professor implements “Contemplative Practices”. At first, I didn’t particularly care for them. And then I was… confused. A raisin? A piece of chocolate? I was expecting to be reflecting on something much more controversial like meat or dairy. How were these little things that literally take me a couple of seconds to consume, thought-provoking? And then I got it. I wasn’t looking at the whole picture.

The exercise that really got to me was the exotic foods practice. 

I do my grocery shopping every few weeks and I always make sure to stock up on my favorite items. I breeze through the aisles and by the time I make it to the cash register, my cart is filled with a wide variety of foods… from coffee beans to mangoes. 

This has always been my norm so I never considered anything different. These contemplative practices have allowed me to slow down and see a whole different side of food. A side that makes me experience a medley of emotions.

It is because of things like international trade that I get to enjoy my mangoes and other foods that are not native to this land. It’s also because of this that I was able to grow up eating the Mexican recipes that my grandmother had passed down to my mother- without even having to leave Washington! This helped me stay connected to a culture that would have otherwise been very foreign to me.

I am grateful. But on the other hand, I feel uncomfortable knowing about the injustices and oppressions that many have had to suffer for me to be able to obtain these products.

I may not have the power to change a whole system that has been here way before I was, but I think that through these contemplative practices I’ve become more aware- and that’s where the real change begins.