"April is the cruelest month", or so T.S. Eliot wrote. I tend to agree with him. There's a whiplash effect that happens: it's (finally) spring! Oops. Not so fast, don't stow the warm layers yet...

It's a reminder that when we settle into a "norm", we can become complacent and feel betrayed when that status quo shifts. Even the slightest change can rattle us, especially when we have expectations that haven't been met.

In light of this, let's dive into another aspect of the practice:

"Even if you've not been fed, be bread."

This works on a few levels: instead of idling and waiting for someone to meet our needs, we meet them ourselves; if someone has even less than we do, it puts what we do have into perspective. Either way, the course of action is very clear.

For example, if I'm hoping for someone to give me what I feel I need, the question becomes how is it that I don't have or am not accessing the agency to create it for My Self? On the other hand, when I encounter someone who's clearly having a rougher go than I am, does it not spark some compassion and a different choice that I might make?

Either way, the practice is to become what's needed to nourish Your Self and / or others in a given moment.

Can you "Become Bread"? (2:12) when it's called for?