SAVORING
One of the many delights of my 3 month recovery time is the
time to savor. There is no rush to work or many appointments. Time to go slow
and see, smell and hear all the small delights of this amazing place on the
planet. My first introduction to savoring was during my diving years. The
initial urge was to go as fast as possible, too see as much “big” stuff as
possible. Then I took an underwater photography class and that all changed in
an instant. Suddenly, I stopped to savor the diversity and richness of life in
each square foot of a coral reef. The tiny fish are so much more colorful.
Different perspective, different reality.
Another savoring has been about food. I like food. I enjoy
eating it. But, usually, I just gulp it down, sadly missing all the richness.
You know the drill – you barely get a bite in your mouth and instead of
relishing that one, the eyes are already searching the plate or bowl to compose
the next bite. Maybe the next bite is already on the fork, just waiting for the
last bite to clear, so it can be loaded. But try this : Take a bite and put the
fork down, close your eyes and really focus on what you are tasting and feeling
in your mouth, moving the food all around the mouth as you chew, resisting the
urge to swallow until the last shred of flavor is gone. This works especially
well for meat, which can be chewed for several minutes (not seconds) per bite,
with flavor right up to the last. With complex foods, the game is finding each
of the flavors before swallowing. Admittedly, this exercise is best done alone,
since eyes closed and not talking is not particularly a social behavior. But,
try it sometime. Alone. You may just find a whole world in each bite. And eat
less.
