A peaceful morning. A night when the rain plays its quiet music. The hour of sorrow. The hour of joy.
Through all of these, we do not forget to eat.
It may be one of the small, daily gifts given to us — that, whatever life is asking of us, we are also asked, three times a day, to sit and to taste.
Today, let us pause for a moment, at the thing we do without thinking.
A question, as small and as quiet as the ones we have asked before.
When you eat, which side of your mouth are you chewing on?
The right? The left? Both, evenly?
Most of us, asked this for the first time, are not sure. We notice, only then, that we have been favouring one side for as long as we can remember. The mouth, like the rest of the body, has been quietly making this choice for years.
And — perhaps more importantly — if you are reading this with a child in your life:
when your child eats, which side do they chew on?
The body is still being built, in a child. The choices it makes now will be the structure it carries for the rest of a life.
The rest of this essay
is for members.
From here, the body begins to speak — what one-sided chewing does to the jaw, the neck, the sleep, and the whole system that follows. Members read every essay in full.
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