Food - It is the most important thing along with oxygen and water that drives life.
Me and You can consider ourselves lucky that we can afford meals everyday to satisfy our hunger pans. After all, there are several people across the globe who do not get enough food every day - resulting in hunger, stress, ailments etc.
I try my best not to waste food. Avoiding wasting can mean taking only the required quantity of food at meal time. Avoiding wasting can mean eating what was cooked for you as you had told.
But sometimes circumstances come up where I simply can't avoid the waste. It leaves me feeling bad and guilty.
But off late, I have observed, that when such a thing happens - I end up not getting an opportunity to eat a meal in the next few days.
This can be due to being busy in meetings at meal time. Or coming back home late - only to realise that the cook hasn't shown up. Or not getting your required choice of vegetarian meal on a plane. And maybe several other reasons.
Maybe this is God's little way of showing that I need to show more respect for food when it is available.
A recent incident on the need to respect food left me humbled.
In a foreign land, I was rushing to office at 7.00 o clock in the morning. After giving the keys of my room at the reception, the lady told me that my friend - who had checked out a day earlier - had left behind some food stuff for me.
I asked her - Is it OK if I collect the bag later in the evening?
The city was Moscow, Russia and a delay of few minutes could result in getting stuck in a big traffic jam. And I had a very important meeting coming up in an hour and a half.
She replied in negative. She said that I should take the bag now itself, go back to the room and put all the stuff in the refrigerator. She said that the food stuff would spoil if I wait till the evening. And she gave me back the keys - like a commander-in-chief.
I thought for a moment and I agreed with her.
Rushing back to the room, I kept all the stuff in the refrigerator and then came running back to the reception to hand over the keys to the lady. And then I departed with a big thank you - Spasiba Bolshoi.
This hadn't taken more than three minutes. And the delay was almost negligible. And I ended up saving some food stuff.
This lady - with this very small incident - had shown me the importance we should give towards food. It is important that we take adequate steps to ensure that the food is not wasted.
She didn't have any stake in ensuring that the food items remain unspoilt. But yet - with her basic life skills - she insisited that I respect food and save food.
She was my Hero for the day.
