31 Paintings in 31 Days - Day Twenty-Two

"An Ocean of Prana" - watercolor and ink on paper, 12" x 16"

Moving back to the beach theme, after being distracted by cute sugar gliders and bus-riding dogs.

There are few sea creatures as irresistible as seals.  They aren't colorful or flamboyant.  Most are gray - pretty much the absence of any color at all.  They don't have heads shaped like hammers or sails on their backs.  They are, however,  playful and energetic and seem to pose like humans sometimes.   But this piece is not about the cuteness of seals. It is about their amazing, fresh, prana-full diet.

Seals eat squid, crustaceans, mollusks and small fish like the sand lance.  All living creatures, all fresh.  No wonder they are full of energy!   No potato chips, soda or pasta in a box for them.  Recently, I've been learning about the "prana" or life force in food.  Prana isn't measurable, like calories or sodium.  But basically, the fresher the food, the higher the energy and enzymes it contains.  Sometimes you can tell by looking at a piece of fruit that its prana has expired - a wrinkled apple, brown banana, or mushy orange.  Other times you can smell a food and know that, though it might be edible, it just isn't fresh.  Raw foods have more prana than cooked (cooking breaks down enzymes).  Microwaving destroys prana.   Trucking foods across the country reduces prana.  Eating local, therefore, is actually more likely to be nutritious than other options.  The food is simply fresher.

Imagine for a minute if all of your food for just one day was as fresh as possible...just picked, just harvested, right out of your own backyard.  Kind of like a seal's meals.  It would taste richer, fresher and more flavorful, and would be packed full of enzymes and nutrients.  I find myself wondering what this might do for a person's health, energy level and attitude.

We are what we eat, and the seal ingests an ocean full of prana.  

So what does this mean for me?  I am going to pay attention to more than the protein and calorie content of my foods this week.  I will pay attention to freshness and prana, and make local choices when buying food.  And maybe I will not use the microwave.  

For more info about the benefits of prana-rich food:
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2014/08/27/why-you-should-consider-a-high-prana-diet


This piece is available.  Currently unframed.  Inquiries:  imajenation@gmail.com