What if I didn't have a choice?

A friend of mine asked me today, "How are you feeling?"  I told him that I was feeling fine except for this this bad cold or virus - whatever it is.  He then asked me if I thought that my fast had brought on this cold.  It didn't - it just happened to coincide with it - they started together.  So then he said to me, "Well maybe you should delay this until you are well and then start." Believe me, I have thought about that, but people who actually have to live on this much food don't get that choice and somehow they manage to survive and most of the time even get well.  That is pretty amazing to me.  So, it just seems like I need to stick this out as long as the fast is not making my condition worse - its not.  The choice to get off of it if I need to for health or other reasons does kind of change the dynamic though - I have a choice about all this - that makes it much more tolerable.  What if I didn't? And why is it okay that there are people in this world of such abundance who don't have that choice?  I am definitely guilty of the twin sins of over-consumption and waste - When I look at what I am eating and think about how much food I throw away in a week - people could live on that food. I am not advocating cleaning one's plate because people somewhere in the world are going hungry - my eating more than I need does not help them.  I am, however, advocating awareness about over-consumption  so that we begin to pay attention to the distribution of resources and consider what could change the imbalance so that all of God's children and creatures have what they need.

That does not mean that we cannot feast from time to time.  You will notice that I have built in a feast day every 7th day - partly so I can survive this and do the things I have to do in the midst of it - but also because the poor actually do that in the Philippines and its usually through the church - on Sundays everyone brings what they have - whether its a lot or just a little and everyone eats and for that meal at least, everyone has enough, with enough to send home with those who will struggle to make it through the next week.  It is extravagance in the best sense of the word. God's wonderful extravagance for all, given through all by doing their part.  I think that is cool. Perhaps we could learn something from them.