Monday, February 25, 2013

More or less of what?

My thoughts about children's books and Lent converge on this excerpt from Richard Wilbur's More Opposites, which I think one of The Most Fun collections of poems and drawings. I don't even require another person to read Wilbur's humorous poems to -- they often make me chuckle contentedly or muse to myself. I see that I already posted this particular one, but it was years ago, and I for one can use it often.

The illustrations of this question in the book include a simple drawing of people with distressed faces holding their tummies. I think the cartoon at bottom makes a similar companion to the poem.

It's #15 in the More Opposites book:
The opposite of less is more.
What's better? Which one are you for?
My question may seem simple, but
The catch is -- more or less of what?

"Let's have more of everything!" you cry.
Well, after we have had more pie,
More pickles, and more layer cake,
I think we'll want less stomach-ache.

The best thing's to avoid excess.
Try to be temperate, more or less.

There is a Mennonite cookbook titled More With Less, from which I gleaned many good cooking ideas in the early days of my homemaking career. But more valuable than the actual recipes was the refreshing concept that one might have more health and more enjoyment of eating and probably more money to spend on other things if you ate less.

Of course this is something we need to keep in mind all the time, not just during Lent. The church fathers caution us not to eat so much food that we aren't able to pray after eating it; an overfull stomach hinders prayer. If it's possible that Less Food = More Prayer....
     Let's just pause and think on that.

7 comments:

elizabeth said...

Thank you.... very good to think on

Farm Girl said...

I loved that cookbook too. Not to mention that is a good reminder. Eating too much food does hinder prayer.

Anita said...

Such a simple concept with a powerful message. I like it.

Left-Handed Housewife said...

I've been thinking a lot about food this Lent. It's such a great comfort to me, but sometimes (most times) it might be better not to focus so much on my own comfort and focus on the comfort of others. Less food, more prayer!

xofrances

Thistle Cove Farm said...

More of Jesus,
less of me.

Gumbo Lily said...

Oh that poem! It made me chuckle out loud (COL!). So many times and so many ways, less is more. Good thoughts.

Cathy said...

You have made my morning!

Personally, I think about contentment and satisfaction. We are called to be both, but that only happens in Christ (put that in bold letters). There have been times I have specifically prayed that the one place I would be disatisfied is in where He stands in my life...ie, more of Him! This morning, on the halfway path of Lent observance, I grasp what is required of me firstly is a broken and contrite heart, that, He does not despise; only in Him, through Him, and by Him... my satisfaction soars.