A few months ago, we became aware of a new restaurant in our area that delivers. We became excited when we saw they had fried chicken. We decided to try it. I ordered the fried chicken dinner, which came with salad and French fries. After having waited patiently for over an hour for the food to arrive, I learned an important lesson. If it does not taste good, do not eat it. Those who know me understand I am one to look for something positive in every situation. In particular case it was a challenge to do; the delivery was amazingly slow, the soda we ordered for Zoe came with a puncture hole in the bottle and was spraying soda at us. They made no effort to even go back around the corner (1/4 of a mile away) to bring us a new one. Then we opened the food. What can I say, the salad was made with lettuce that was limp and brown, the tomatoes smelled bad, and the onions still had peel on them. It neither looked nor smelled good enough to want to eat it, so it went in the trash. The fries were still partially frozen and unseasoned. The chicken, well, the first bite told me that I did not even need to swallow it. Not only was it overcooked and under seasoned, but also it tasted as if the chicken might not have even been healthy to eat, it tasted that bad. It did not taste good, so I did not eat it.
There are all kinds of things we put into us each day: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual food. Most of us know that if we order or are given food to eat and it does not taste good, then we should not eat it. Sometimes it is that there is something wrong with the food. It might not have been stored properly, it might have been kept beyond its shelf life, or it might not have been prepared properly. Sometimes it is just that it does not agree with our palette. For example, my family loves my cabbage casserole. However, it does not agree with my palette, so I do not eat it.
The same is true for the food we are presented with each day mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Sometimes the words and actions of others do not “taste” good because they are poisonous and toxic to our mind, body, and spirit. If they do not “taste” good in our soul, then we should not ingest them. Some of us have been eating “poisons” for so long that we no longer realize they are even “poison.”
Don Miguel Ruiz, in his book The Four Agreements wrote, “Refuse to eat poison!” Most people would not voluntarily eat poison. Yet eat and serve poison is something some people do on a daily basis. It is time to not only refuse to eat poison, but also be mindful that we are not serving it as well. We also have to remember that what “tastes” good to us, may not taste good to others. For example, for me the writings of various sacred texts taste good to me. However, for a friend of mine, the only sacred text that “tastes” good to her is the Old and New Testament. For her that which “tastes” good to me, would not “taste” good to her and she would not eat it.
Learn for yourself what “tastes” good to you spiritually. If it doesn’t taste good, then do not eat it. It is that simple.