Yesterday was one of my favorite holidays – Thanksgiving – an opportunity to meet up with friends, reflect on life, and, of course, stuff your face with food. It feels like Thanksgiving brings both the best and worst out of humanity, as we acknowledge life’s greatness while at the same time destroying our bodies.
If you think about American/Western holidays in general, we have several types of large feasts – Thanksgiving, XMas (those who celebrate), 4th of July, etc. Though, we do not, as a culture, have any large fasts. This is interesting to me and speaks volumes to the priority of consumerism and broader consumption. No one makes money during a fast, that is why they are not popular in this capitalistic society.
But what if we all had a fast a few times a year? Like in Judaism, we fast multiple times a year for various holidays. This type of planned suffering is a really valuable way to reflect and learn more about the human body.
I’d like to see more planned fasts.
Also published on Medium.