Faith, food, family and friends
I worked as the school counselor for a small Catholic school in Venice, Florida for several years. Being surrounded by spiritual, faith filled individuals helped strengthen my faith and allowed me to see close up how spirituality can build community and how community can influence spirituality. The teachers, staff, students and families all prioritized their faith, family, community and service to others.
The Blue Zones book described many healthy centenarians that had faith. “The Sardinians and Nicoyans are mostly Catholic. Okinawans have a blended religion that stresses ancestor worship. Loma Linda centenarians are Seventh-day Adventists. Ikarians have traditionally been Greek Orthodox. All belong to strong religious communities. The simple act of worship is one of those subtly powerful habits that seems to improve your chances of having more good years. It doesn’t matter if you are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or Hindu.” (Blue Zones, p. 287).
Belonging to a religious community can help connect people. Acts 2:42 states “they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” The Blue Zone concept of belonging and spirituality has been around for thousands of years! Faith, food and fellowship seem to be key components to living a longer and healthier life. This month’s plant slant recipe is Fettuccine Arrabbiata. It’s a perfect recipe to double the size and invite others to contribute a salad, fresh bread and a bottle of Cannonau de Sardegna to create a Blue Zones experience. Perhaps you get together with people from your religious community and start a quarterly fellowship meeting where you share a meal, give thanks and figure out ways to contribute to your community.
Faith, food and fellowship seem to be key components to living a longer and healthier life. This month’s plant slant recipe is Fettuccine Arrabbiata. It’s a perfect recipe to double the size and invite others to contribute a salad, fresh bread and a bottle of Cannonau de Sardegna to create a Blue Zones experience.
Reflection: Do you participate in a spiritual community? What ways can you strengthen this dimension of your life? What types of volunteer opportunities are available that you could get involved in?
Action: Take a realistic inventory of your schedule and see if you can contribute in some small way to make a difference. Get more involved in your spiritual community. Haven’t been to religious services in a while? Schedule an hour each week for the next eight weeks to attend . . . don’t think about it - just go!
Recipe: Fettuccine Arrabbiata