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A blessing for when you're too busy to eat

On taking sustenance when it finally arrives

The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. (Mark 6:30-31, NSRVA)

Blessed are you who is too busy to eat. Who can’t allow yourself to sit down for one moment, because you know another knock will come on the door. No leisure for you, no solitary moments, no reprieve, no peace, no moment to gather your thoughts. Just one confusing, overwhelming, overstimulating blur of putting others before yourself.

May you not condemn yourself. Just because you have important work to do doesn’t mean you’re not still human. It is human to hunger. Human to thirst. Human to need a moment to shut sore eyes. Human to need to step away from time to time, even in the face of immense suffering. Perhaps especially in the face of immense suffering.

Let yourself feel those uncomfortable emotions that arise at times of overwhelm, those unbidden and unwelcome guests. Resentment. Bitterness. Sadness. Regret. Longing. Loneliness. Exhaustion. May you not be in a hurry to exorcise these feelings. May you recognize them for the friends and protectors they are trying to be. May you be attuned to those rought emotions perhaps even echoing the words of Jesus, calling you to come away for a while.

May you take the quiet moment when it comes. May you feast contentedly when you find yourself being given a chance to sit down and eat. May you eat slowly and delightedly, savouring each morsel. May you not find yourself gulping down the food nervously, on alert, awaiting the next inevitable interruption. May you leave behind guilt and shame at being permitted to finally find a moment of peace.

May you let youself relax into solitude.

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