Food for the soul

Thanks to Zomato, I got to spend some bak bak time with Mayur back in February. Along with Rocky, this guy gets to do the two things I’d rather do always – eat and travel. While it was a fun meet up, it was impossible to agree on the subject of meat. Most of the others around were fanatical carnivores – like myself (and I was wearing a tee with the message above) – so we traded insults with him for the first few minutes before the man silenced us with “food is like religion, and you should not piss on other people’s temples”.

After that the conversation quickly moved to life philosophy. I (along with at least one other person) was curious to know how he kept himself interested in the food + travel routine. Wouldn’t it get monotonous? We talked of retaining child-like levels of curiosity and wonder, an openness to experiences, of starting the day asking what newness can be done today and realised that as we grow older, we look for reasons not to do things, as opposed to the reverse.

After taking my trip with a food quote, (and underlining his instant wit) he went off to talk to other folks, and the rest of discussed how this also translates to how we interact with other people. Earlier, we used to trust others until they gave us a reason not to, and these days, it’s exactly the reverse. I wondered if this is probably related to the ‘openness to experiences’ we had talked of earlier. 

Always be mindful of the kindness and not the faults of others.” ~ Buddha

The more Mayur talked, the more I was convinced that he had been inspired by Buddhism. Turned out that he was a practising Buddhist. It’s easy to see that he lives this philosophy, and even in the less-than-half-an-hour I saw him, the energy and joy was infectious. Living in the moment is something I aspire to do, and it is heartening to have met someone who has traveled more, in more ways than one. 🙂

until next time, as the cliche goes, eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow you may diet!

PS: Mayur, if you chance to read this, dude, it’s that absinthe 😉

2 thoughts on “Food for the soul

  1. I’m jealous.

    For one, you get to bak bak with (the) Mayur, and then, being reminded that the two of you actually eat and travel for a living.

    What does the Buddha have to say about being mindful of the happiness and (food-)bliss of others? *Pouts*

    1. Hahaha. One (apparently false but much-believed) story goes that he died of mushroom poisoning, so I think his food advice might go under famous last words! On the earlier part – mindful of the happiness of others – observe your own emotions, seek the root of your dissatisfaction and understand the transient nature of erm, burgers and such 😀

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