there was never enough to go around , but rather because of a deep appreciation that we had cultivated over the centuries for what nature had given us and the hard work it had cost us to produce the miraculous substances that daily appeared on our kitchen table . During the next few days , I managed to direct all of the varied contents of Lilliana ’ s basket into soups , salads , and sandwiches . If I could freeze any of it , I did .
A few weeks later , I was out in the garden with Lilliana and her grandchildren at around noon . She had just finished a morning ’ s worth of hard work when she blurted out . “ Son of a gun ! I should have packed a lunch this morning but I was in too much of a hurry . Unfortunately , I ’ m feeling queasy now , almost as if I might faint .”
“ Don ’ t faint , please !” I exclaimed . “ Wait here while I go get you something to eat .” Since I heard no protestations to the idea , I took off running in the direction of my home . When I got there , I remembered that I had a delicious turkey and vegetable soup in the refrigerator that I had thawed out the night before . Oh good ! I ’ ll take her a bowl of soup , I thought to myself .
After warming the soup and ladling up a bowlful , I realized that it made no sense to just feed Lilliana and not her family . I then decided to take the steaming potful of soup to the outdoor dining area beneath an old apple tree where the family sat in a state of wellearned repose . As I approached them , I saw wide grins of anticipation and delight on their faces . At that moment I knew that I had done the right thing by offering them food . Almost instantly , the expressions of genuine happiness on their faces begun to nourish my soul and stir my imagination in mysterious and unexpected ways such as rituals , whether planned or unplanned , always do .
Being the caring and nourishing grandmother that she is , Lilliana naturally picked up the ladle , carefully filled the bowls and meted out their content to everyone including myself . As we ate heartily , she began asking me what all was in the tasty concoction . For starters , I mentioned the organic turkey , quinoa and rice . But , as I gave the matter further thought , I realized , much to my surprise , that nearly everything else , the onions , carrots , sweet corn , cabbage , tomatoes , etc ., were all the fruits of Lilliana ’ s garden which had filled my basket days before . It dawned on me that , whereas I had made the soup by combining its ingredients and bringing them to a boil , she had , in fact , done the more difficult work of growing most of it ! I was humbled by the realization that whom I thought was sharing food with others , was in fact , the beneficiary of Lilliana ’ s generous sharing ! We laughed at the irony of this discovery that had eluded me up until then .
In traditional Mexican culture as indeed in Native American culture there is a logic inherent in the giving and sharing of the fruits of the land that transcends dollars and cents . Indeed , this is true for many other cultures around the world . Central to the idea of sharing is that there are invisible forces operating in the world that make the counting of what one shares with others a rather trite matter . Among the most important , perhaps , is the fact that short of a flood , famine or drought , nature ’ s bounty is many more times greater than human need , unless , of course , humans happen to hoard it and turn plenty for all into want for the many .
My mother , Eva López , one of eight females born into a wheat-growing family , in which all of the work was done by hand , used to say : “ In giving to others , you neither become richer nor poorer , but , instead , blessed .” Indeed , evidence suggests that we may become richer ( and perhaps also blessed ) because giftgiving , particularly of food , creates a relationship of mutual regard that almost always opens the floodgates for ongoing reciprocity and mutual enrichment and enhancement . It so happens that an act of kindness from a neighbor or friend whose unbreakable bonds are owing to endless rounds of giving and receiving food stuffs , can save your life or at the very least , relieve you from need or want during unexpected moments of crisis . The same is true for the other person ’ s life .
6 plenty I autumn harvest 2021