Dear Beloved,
Thank you so much for meeting us around the table in 2023. You called us in, gathered chairs, you scooted closer and touched knees, you reached and passed the plate over and over again. You laughed, you held full and heavy hearts and you brought yourself to places of deep nourishment.
You brought us closer, to share and witness your joys, transformations, movements, and celebrations. You invited us to your most tender moments, as bodies breathing within the immense expansion and contraction of 2023. I am in awe of your presence to be present.
At a community conversation this past fall @mumbetsfreedomfarm, the opening question was, “And who are you accountable too?” At the time, I did not answer this way, but as I began serving food and cutting melon for the table, I realized that I am accountable to everyone who meets me to receive nourishment. I am accountable to your belly, your heart, your liver, your neurons, your womb, and how all of these internal elements of you move into engaging with the world around you.
I find this an immensely beautiful weight to hold in my hands, my pots & your spoons. This fills me with a connection beyond the body. Holding your meals holds me closer to my great-grandmother, Celeste, my namesake. She - a grower, a mother, a baker who filled the kitchen and restaurant counters with her art, a woman of the rural south who knew it best, and a memory of love to all her children.
As we continue to grow ourselves to lovingly hold light for lives across waters and earth, maybe for the first time - maybe for the hundredth time, let’s remember that the unique gifts we have been born into are here to make magic with all challenges and circumstances we meet.
Remember beloved, you have a seat at the table with your light and your purpose.
We promise you do.
Graciously, this is also a thank you to sister Char and Mami Micha who are spirit-certified food magicians. Who feed me and other mand days I know this world shares with me abundantly every day because you are close.
