For the Love of Food!

I work with food.
More accurately, I work with items that will become food as long as I appreciate each of their qualitative values and treat them with respect.
Respect is a slippery subject to address when considering the merits of food preparation. It's got something close, to my mind, a similar vibe to spirituality. Preparing food is very much a ritual to me. I feel like a nature worshipper when I'm standing before my chopper and board; a pile of produce here, a block of cheese here, raw cuts of animal flesh there. It makes me want to tell civilization to toss off, trade my pants for robes and move to a hut with an open fire, a garden, and plenty of birds and beasts around for fodder. I think of drawing an arrow and closing my eyes and praying to nature for peace and understanding before I let fly the pointy shaft that will bring mutton, or whatever, to my block.
It's difficult to ignore the importance of our ecosystem when the bounty, and all of the sensuality that accompanies it, are lying there, full of promise.
The more different types of things that I prepare, and the more that I hone each stage of the procedure; the more it is that I feel in tune with myself and the world.
After a point, it exceeds mere hedonism. I care about my cooking, and I care about it's reception. A real cook will be thinking of the limitations and potential of each ingredient, as well as those of anyone who may be around to indulge. Until the preparations of a dish are completed I am walking a razor's edge of anxiety. Too much or too little of anything will destroy the dish. Misplacing a step may lead to discovery or disaster. Both.
Thanksgiving is coming up, around the bend.
If you plan on celebrating it this year then it might be good to innovate your own understanding of the process. That's what I'm trying to do. Thanksgiving, 'the original Earth Day.' If you have the wherewithal to revel in celebratory gastronomy this year then celebrate the process of it and celebrate the origins of the foods that you will eat.
And remember: Cooking is good excersize. If somebody asks you to lend a hand; do it gladly. That work will be less that you have to do to fight off the pounds that you will inevitably put on as a result of your feasting.
Thank you.