Eating my way through Asia, mindfully
A trip through Japan with my family, eating mindfully, income levels around the world, and the growth of Buddhism in America
Hi friend!
Apologies for the delay. Finding stable internet while in Taipei has been a challenge. I'm sitting here in a hotel lobby uploading my Youtube video and email newsletter. Dedication!
As a part of my journey, I invited my family to join my travels for two weeks touring Japan, Hong Kong, and (now) Taipei. Last week, I went offline from daily vlogs and Instagram stories to not only reevaluate my content but also spend quality time with my family.
With that said, Japan has been an interesting part of my trip.
By blood, I am half Japanese (father) and half Taiwanese (mother) but culturally, I was raised strictly Japanese. My first and main language at home was Japanese and I attended Japanese school every Saturday for six years, learning history, math, science, grammar, all taught in Japanese. My father passed away from leukemia when I was seven years old and my mother raised my sister and me as a single mom. After my father's death, my family, language, and home dynamic shifted towards a Taiwanese culture and there was no longer a Japanese "side" I could continue to anchor myself with. I responded to this cultural abandonment by rejecting my foreign roots and finding solace in American culture. I stopped speaking Japanese and Mandarin with my mother after my father's death.
Even after two decades since my father's death, there is still a residual fluency that I hold. While in Japan, I'm being forced to speak Japanese and in just a few days, I'm quickly picking up the Japanese language that I once was extremely fluent as a child. My heart feels as it's being stretched open uncomfortably as I practice speaking in my mother tongue. I was trying to detach from my cultural identity all throughout my adolescence, but now I find myself boomeranging back as a part of my self-discovery.
I love Asian cuisine and have been gorging on delicious food with my family for the last few weeks. As a part of my video this week, I talk about my relationship with food. In my case, overeating. With my shift in diet to heal my body, I've also learned strategies to improve my relationship with food through mindfulness.
Do you have a complicated relationship with food?
Speaking of Food...
This latest article by James Clear taught me a lot about junk food science.
The combination of science (texture, composition, taste) and psychology (memories and reactions) are meant to work against our own better judgment. I didn't realize that junk snacks were engineered to rapidly dissolve in our mouths to reduce feeling full. 🤦♂️
Millions of dollars and hours from some of the brightest minds are dedicated every year to make junk food more cost-effective and addictive. By being conscious of its dark science, you might reconsider the snacks you put into your cart next time.
A Humbling Website
I stumbled on Gap Minder years ago and it came up again recently. In a few years, this website has increased the amount of content in its database substantially.
You can toggle between income, location, and items of various families and compare them side-by-side. After checking some of the living conditions of the families here, I can see how luxurious my life is even with the little stuff I have on my back.
Since we're on the topic of food, check out a comparison of tables of food. There's more food waste on our tables than what some of these families can afford. I'm making a vow to do my best to avoid ordering excess and throwing away food.
Food for Thought
The Guardian published a nice (and long) article on The Toxic Truth about Modern Food. Food is no longer a commodity, but an over-saturated marketing resource fertile for experimentation at the detriment of our health. (That was a mouthful)
I see this all around me. Produce is becoming unnaturally sweeter than they once were - tomatoes, carrots, and even onions. We have more food allergies and intolerances than ever before.
With each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As we continue to experiment with what we feed ourselves, we will soon discover the effects for future classroom textbooks to come.
Buddhism in America
Now that meditation apps are worth over $1B (Calm), the upward trajectory of meditation, mindfulness, and Buddhism is just getting started. If sitting in silence without consuming any net "new" information can teach us so much, it is evidence that we all have untapped knowledge waiting to be awakened. No wonder So Many Americans are Turning to Buddism in the America. (A long read, but the Atlantic captures the movement in a nutshell)
As always, thanks for reading!
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Anything else? You can always hit "reply" to email me directly. 💌
Have a beautiful day!
Metta (loving-kindness),
Steven