Back in time, there was a restaurant that I had forgotten now but had wished to go very much then. Mille Fleurs--one thousand flowers--the very best and the most French place in all of San Diego.
I wanted so much to go for a romantic dinner with the one I love, although I had not met them yet, I knew in my heart the perfect place for us to gaze longingly at each other over our plates of magnificent, expensive 'haute cuisine'.
It popped into my head today. A lot. I looked it up. I thought about going there for lunch and possibly for dinner if my boy would behave himself enough.
I looked at the menu. It looked like a lot of meat. That was the first sign that I have changed. It didn't look appetizing. Of course, there were vegetarian courses that looked amazing. But something held me back.
It wasn't raw.
It wasn't fresh.
It was local, but the Vibration did not seem the right match for me.
Then I saw this: http://www.millefleurs.com/adieu-foie-gras/
It was a litany for the days of old, in the French Countryside I adore, written by the Chef of Mille Fleurs.
He was unhappy with the law that effective 7.1.2012, no more foie gras could be made in California.
He justified that the geese that they raised on the farm, in total sensory deprivation, in darkness, only to be fed for 3 minutes each two times a day, 'were drunk and happy their whole lives' and 'much happier than the geese that had to fend for themselves outdoors in the cold and heat.' The foie gras geese were sold at market--livers only--and the bodies made in to duck confit that was served 'each Thursday night'. The other ducks, the free-range ones, were one by one the Sunday dinner.
I am shocked by this.
I know enough about birds to know that gavage (force feeding down throat) is a sign of love in birds, as a parent forces partially digested food from their crop into the mouths of their young.
I also know enough about people that 'being drunk and happy their whole lives' might be a touch of 'projection' from a chef onto a bird, so to speak...
I had no concept of how far I have progressed in the Animal Rights and Nutrition for Me department.
Instead--I cooked in the hotel. A beautiful salad with endive, kale, lettuce, avocado and orange, with lemon juice and sicilian olive oil for me. Fried organic potatoes and onions for both of us. A microwaved Annie's Organic Burrito for the kid. A glass of Loire Valley white wine for me.
I made the right choice. I am most thankful for the miracle of my coming awake and not eating foie gras nor wanting it. I hope one day chef makes this step in his progress of consciousness too. As we develop a Spiritual Practice as we progress in our Reiki Training, we eat for our vibration, and not for our taste buds, or price, or 'cool' factor any more.
Namaste,
Reiki Doc