Touching the Mezuzah of Bread

A mezuzah on the doorpost—reminding me to pause, to wake up, to touch awareness. Now, even cookies and bread can serve the same purpose.

This is kind of a fun little poem that I thought you might enjoy as I reframe my impulsive eating of cookies and bread as a mindfulness bell. Instead of seeing it as a bad habit I need to fight, I’m experimenting with turning it into a moment of presence.

In Jewish tradition, a mezuzah on the doorpost is more than a symbol—it’s a mindfulness bell. Each time we pass through a doorway and touch it, we are reminded to pause, to wake up, to remember the presence of the Divine in our daily lives.

But what if mindfulness could extend beyond the doorpost? What if even our impulses—those habits we struggle with—could also become mezuzahs, gentle invitations to awareness?

Recently, I’ve been reframing my impulsive eating of cookies and bread. Rather than seeing it as a failure of willpower or a battle to control, I’ve begun treating each craving as a doorway. Just as I touch the mezuzah before entering a room, I now use the moment of reaching for food as a reminder to pause and rest in awareness.

Not to resist. Not to judge. Just to see.

This shift is transforming something that once felt like compulsion into an unexpected spiritual practice. It’s not about stopping the impulse, but about using it as a touchstone for presence—turning even cookies or a loaf of bread into a mezuzah.

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The Mezuzah of Bread

Hand to the doorpost, a pause in the flow,
A moment of presence—just touching, then go.
The cookie, the loaf—no different in kind,
Each one a doorway to seeing the mind.

No need to battle, no need to fight,
Just rest in awareness, simple and light.
The hunger may linger, the craving may call,
But presence is spacious—it holds them all.

Not stopping, not striving, just waking instead,
Touching the mezuzah of cookies and bread.

🙏🕊🙏

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