Day 14: "Food For Thought"

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id you know that the Greek word στόμα (stóma) refers to the english word "mouth"? In botany, however, a stoma is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves and stems. Another part of the human body that maybe is connected to that word is the English "stomach." In Greek it is called στομάχι (stomáchi). Finding connections to these ancient root words that are seemingly ordinary can actually establish some hidden interconnections between animals and plants. We maybe are creatures belonging to different kingdoms but we seem to have the same body organs fulfilling the same functions just to keep us alive.

Did you know also that the English term “ruminate” is connected to the British idiomatic expression—chew the cud? Both mean the same thing: to think deeply and reflectively about something. Figuratively speaking, human beings who meditate or contemplate chew the cud, but, literally speaking this expression was derived from the eating behavior of ruminant animals like goats, sheep and other dairy animals. You might have seen how these animals chew and munch over and over again (“ruminari” in Latin) the roughage or the course and fibrous fodder from grass and hay. After partly-digesting the food, they chew it over again before finally swallowing. In fact, ruminant animals have four different stomachs that help with proper digestion.

Did you know something about elephants? I googled them up and I found the following:

Elephants, the largest land animals on the planet, are among the most exuberantly expressive of creatures. Joy, anger, grief, compassion, love; the finest emotions reside within these hulking masses. Through years of research, scientists have found that elephants are capable of complex thought and deep feeling (Google).

Although elephants are capable of complex "ruminating" Google also says "elephants are non-ruminants, meaning the food is fermented after it has been digested by the stomach (hindgut fermentation), and is pushed through the gut at a rapid rate." On day fourteen of the Season of Creation, let these be our food for thought. 8thWorker.us