The End of Ecstasy

Today, I'm at McDonalds, which happens to be the most convenient place for me to hang around while waiting to pick up mom later from the hairdresser. I thought it would be fun to order a McD meal and use the opportunity to blog. I haven't eaten a McD meal for a while and relish in the chance to indulge a bit in the guilty pleasure of fast-food.

I rarely complain about food because I think all food tastes good when you are hungry.  Food and wine are simply accompaniment to good company and conversation. And when I'm eating alone, I'll either be reading or writing; food becomes fuel for thought.

Is food the topic of today's blog? Why not? We Malaysians make a big fuss about it, always claiming we have the best food in the world. I do enjoy local food but my preference is biased because my tastebuds have been shaped by what I've been accustomed to since childhood. 

I've learned that most food would taste good if you approach it without any preconceptions. I would bet you'll enjoy anything that you can stuff into your mouth if you have been starving the day and you have not tasted a properly cooked meal for some time. That's how I would judge food--to always approach it  with a hungry stomach, real or imagined. That way, they usually taste good.

Personally, I have a preference for simple food, which could be eaten while you are reading or writing. I agree, that's certainly not mindful eating, where one is supposed to focus completely on what one is chewing, tasting and savouring. Eating can be a good meditation exercise. But I reserve that state of mind for other things. Eating, as I'm doing now, simply provides the contemplative interludes in between sentences and paragraphs.

I know that for most of us, eating is one of the great pleasures of life. But I'm often amused by how unashamed we are about our fondness for it. Malaysians, especially. All we talk about is food, boastful and proud even about our cravings for it. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against a hedonistic indulgence in culinary delights, just that I sometimes wonder, if one were to express a similar enthusiasm towards sex, would that be equally acceptable? I always find that exaggerated expression of delight on the faces chefs on TV whenever they sample food, amusing.

We live for the pleasures of life: food, sex, love and adventure. If you find that all these things are ultimately empty, then you have a problem...or a calling. You have to plunge yourself deeply into the realms of pleasure to be able to know that. 

If at the end of every ecstasy, there's only emptiness, we know something for sure: that's why you are still reading this blog.