breakfast shadows

traveling around makes you aware of the core differences between people, the big things language, religion and culture gets much of the focus and attention, food does as well, it is a core element to people. food is deeply ingrained in the culture. the fact that seaweed is used dominantly in japan comes from the island nation’s connection with the sea, but it also helps to define the culture for people outside. these differences can also be viewed on a more micro level, people are simply different and some of those differences show through their breakfast.

i have a close friend who never eats breakfast in the morning. she simply does not feel the need for food when she wakes, and goes well towards lunch time most days without the desire for anything to eat. this is in stark contrast with others who wake to a hot pot of coffee, brewed on a timer to enable the immediate craving for the warm embrace of caffeine to be satisfied as soon as they wake.

people build the breakfast ritual into their mornings, making it a core element of their day. the comfort of repetition, the feeling of normalcy that comes from having the same breakfast, the same way at the same time helps some people take the first steps of the day in a structured and consistent way. this allows them to control, if not the entire day, at least the first hours in a way that enables them to prepare themselves for the tensions of the day to come.

i was thinking about this as it relates to stereotypes of people. does it say something about the person if they eat at home, or stop into the same bakery every day. does the choice of a breakfast on the go, a croissant or bagel rather than a sit down meal of nasi lemak tell us of the person and their day to come? is the espresso and pain au chocolate crowd inherently different than the diet coke and hersey’s chocolate bar group? both are taking caffeine and chocolate into their systems to get themselves started, but they choose to do it in very different ways.

as a way to make a point, i will describe a few completely fictional people. if there is any similarity to people who actually exist and whom I may have occasionally had breakfast with (who may or may not read this blog) please understand this is fiction and does not mean to describe or analyze you in fact. did you believe that?

angela is one who never eats breakfast. she makes breakfast for those around her and cooks with a passion and a flair, but she skips breakfast herself. occasionally there will be a coffee, but this is easily skipped as well. the need for cigarettes on the other hand is real and these are never skipped. angela has a level of control and self-discipline, along with the ability to deny herself simple pleasures as they are possible distractions from her day. the need to start the day and move into the sunlight of morning is more powerful than the demand for food. angela is more about taking care of those around her, and ignoring the simple needs that would bring her pleasure.

suzette and dee are sisters, who are complete opposites banana and green tea v. diet coke and chocolate in any form. the two of them view the world differently, they carry themselves in a different way, the focus on what’s right verses what feels right. suzette is focused on health while dee is focused on enjoyment. suzette is willing to take the time to do the hard work to be good, while dee is focused on the fast solution, with the minimum stress. where would these two sisters find such different needs in their lives. how do two women from the same childhoods, find such different priorities in their lives. or are they really more closely connected than the breakfast ritual shows, are they really the same with different appearance.

nora is another friend who is most at ease in her small comfort zone of the things she learned in her youth. she craves the food of her childhood, never to trying something new and different. when put in a situation where only new things are available, she closes up and refuses to try something she has never had before. she is most comfortable with the porridge she grew up with, she is not ready for eggs benedict or crepes. does this point to a desire, deeply ingrained, to stay within the safe embrace of her protective society? does the desire to stay within the comfort zone of breakfast, help to counter the desires to break out in other areas.

jonathan enjoys going to a local bakery every morning. the stated reason is to have coffee and croissant, to begin his day with caffeine and sugar, kick starting the day with the powerful boost of legal chemicals delivered by pastry and brewed coffee. the reality is that going to the bakery is a social call, the food is an excuse to see and chat with people who smile and chat back. overtime these people become friends and get to know him to the point they can anticipate his order and wonder where he is when he does not show for a few days. the need for friendship is actually more important then the need for caffeine.

all of this came from the thought that “you are what you eat”. if this is true, along with “breakfast is the most important meal” than we know that breakfast is the window into a persons real personality. watching what you eat takes an all new meaning. maybe if you are observant you can see things in the people around you as much as you can within yourself, just by looking down at the table and seeing how they start their day.