Adversity has always been our greatest teacher. As we begin looking beyond the tragedies, setbacks, and inconveniences we have been faced with this year… what will we find? Is there new information available to us? Is there a higher level of awareness we can utilize to live in greater balance with nature? Is there a more peaceful, abundant and connected life waiting to be tapped into?

Perhaps this year was the gift we did not know we needed. Right now we are presented with an opportunity to step into a new way of being, and the key is right here in front of us – on our plates.

At its surface the pandemic has taken power away from so many of us. The simple power to leave our house, to hug our friends, to comfortably show our smiles in public. We’ve lost the power to eat out at our favorite restaurants, to travel freely and even to be with those we love in times of sorrow and celebration.

For me personally, leading a double life as a conference director and a musician, these events hit hard right in my empowerment centers. The concert tour I had booked for May, set to hit venues from Hawaii to Boston, was cancelled. The trade show I was programming and ready to emcee in June in NYC was postponed to October, and then cancelled… The trajectory of my growing career, my platforms for creative expression, became riddled with uncertainty nearly overnight. And I know I am not alone in this type of experience.

I have no doubt that these states of confusion, sickness, political chaos and civil unrest are temporary. We will make it through to a brighter day. But we cannot deny that we have found ourselves in this place in this moment, and it is up to us to find our power within it.

Will we choose to be lost in hopelessness? Will we choose to identify with the fear? Or will we choose to see these challenging emotions as important lessons about ourselves, showing us who we are and what we value?

When we choose to see the world in this way – through the fires of acceptance and accountability – we align ourselves with the space that is available for us to grow in this moment, rather than the contraction that makes the process feel uncomfortable. We begin to notice things right in front of us that we may have been blind to before. I believe it is in this awakening to a deeper perspective that our power can be reclaimed.

How does this connect to our food, you might ask? Well, we are what we eat, and the nutrients we consume literally become the cells in our bodies. With every meal we cast a vote for the type of person we wish to become, and our minds interpret this information as the lens through which we see the world.

What stories are the foods we are eating telling us about the world we experience? Does our next bite truly align with our deepest values as human beings?

Tonight when we sit down for dinner, let us look at our plates a bit differently. Rather than seeing only food that will temporarily nourish our physical bodies, let us envision the story our food represents.

Does our plate represent a story of health, where our bodies are built to be resilient to infection and disease for many strong years to come?

Does our plate represent a story of sustainability, where the resources we use for energy place as little a burden as possible on the natural environment?

Does our plate represent a story of compassion, where we stand up for those who are marginalized and vulnerable… where the lives of all beings have equal value and our sacred right to live freely is protected and cherished?

When we ask ourselves these questions we begin to see the impact we have on the reality we experience through the simple choices we make every day.

If we can look at our plate and be empowered by the story it tells… If we can get excited about living in the world our plate represents… then perhaps we will all feel a bit mightier when we grip our forks today.

Together, we are powerfully eating our way to a home on Planet Earth we can all be proud of!