Food As Our Pacifier

Last time we talked of the emotions involved in our choices of what to eat. Besides the choice of what to have, our emotions are inseparably bound up with our actual food.

We love this item, hate that one. Some foods make us feel relaxed and content, others give us restlessness and energy. We rarely look at our plate with dispassionate eyes because we have established a relationship with food that engages our senses: sight, touch, smell, taste, and our emotions: satisfaction, excitement, love.

In our busy, problem-plagued lives, we daily encounter stress, anxiety, anger, and frustration. Like a fussing baby with a pacifier, we self-soothe our upsets - with food.

"Fate cannot harm me, I have dined today," said the poet (Sydney Smith). He was right: there is something intrinsically soothing about eating. No matter what problem confronts us, a good meal makes us feel that we can handle it. We feel renewed, restored, re-energized.

No wonder we love to eat . . . and eat . . . and eat.

But we might wonder if there is another way.

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