Blessings and the myth of Rugged Individualism
I remember the first time I heard a Buddhist meal blessing. I don’t fully remember the circumstances, but I remember the way the words landed on my heart and exploded into my consciousness: "We thank the thousand hands that brought this meal to our plates."
I remember my initial mental tallying & thinking that number was awfully high, but then I took a moment to really sense in and track the lineage of the nourishment I was being offered:
The plants and animals who gave their life force
My beloved Aunt who prepared the meal
The workers in the grocery store
The workers who transported the plants and animals to the grocery store
All those who tended and harvested the plants and animals
It was about this point when the vastness of the web of connection began to sink in:
The artists who designed the plates we were using
The workers who made them
The workers who harvested the clay
The workers who made the bricks of the kiln that fired them
The workers who mined the ore that became our forks
The engineers who designed the machines in the factory where our forks were made
And so on, and so on, and so on
And then, I realized that this web was so big, it seems like everything, everywhere was involved:
The teachers who taught the workers to read
The mothers/partners/friends who cooked the meals that fueled these workers
The plants and animals that shared their life force with each of these workers
And, and, and…
At some point, I decided that 10,000 hands was more accurate, but each time I sit and weave my thanks along the lineage, I realize that it’s probably most accurate to just go ahead & thank the entire universe. I do this not in an abstract way, but because I can see the direct links, the constant connection between each of our points of light.
Whenever I play this game of tracking and gratitude, I inevitably begin to think about the bizarre concept of Rugged Individualism. I think of the altar upon which “self-sufficiency” was placed in my raising, and the abject terror I carried in my bones that I might someday be compelled to commit the cardinal sin of asking someone for help. I feel that younger version of myself and the echoes of her fear reverberating from time to time, and - while I hold her in such compassion - I shake my head at the fast one that was pulled on her. In her perceived isolation, it was easy to believe that there was nowhere to turn. Her lonely eyes could not see the 10,000 hands that fed and sheltered her life force, the infinite souls who brought her peace and comfort through art. The loud voices telling her, "do it yourself," drowned out the awareness that she was always held, always supported, always helped.
Sometimes I think about folks who fly the flag of Rugged Individualism and strive to maintain a strict off-grid existence. They worship deep self-sufficiency as they systematically disconnect from others. I wonder if they think about the workers who mined the ores that became their guns. Do they see the irony of pretending to be self-sufficient when everything they need for survival is so infinitely linked to the life force of other beings: humans, plants, animals, minerals? What they call self-sufficiency feels more like withdrawal and withholding. They are not responsible for the origin of their resources, but they endeavor to become a termination point. They take what is created or given by others and they block the flow of life. When life force and resource are allowed to flow, there is enough for all. The dams and walls we build are what create scarcity down the line, and eventually for our own selves.
I’ve happily given up this worship of self-sufficiency in favor of delighting deeply in the work that is for my hands, rejoicing in both the act of creation and the pleasure of witnessing the creations of others.
The meal blessing I use now goes a little something like this:
Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the plants and animals who gave their life force so that I may be nourished.
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the 10,000 hands that made this meal possible.
May your life force be a blessing to me and all I come into contact with.
May my life force be a blessing to you and all you come into contact with.
I hope that just about covers it. <3