Monday, September 3, 2018

How often do you . . .

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How often do you take a bite of food and masticate intentionally, slowly, deliberately?

How often do you put another bite of food in your mouth before the first bite is finished?

How often do you deliberate on what finished means? Are you done when there's no more chewing? Are you done when you swallow the last morsel? And how long do you wait before taking the next bite? How often are you present in that moment, as you swallow, feeling the food move down your esophagus while savoring the aftertaste?

How often do you lick your lips? How often are you present in the moment, focused attentively on chewing, tasting, savoring, and swallowing?

I encourage you to get a glass (or bottle) of cool (or cold) and take a big sip, and close your eyes as the water runs down your esophagus and into your stomach, and focus on the sensation of the cool liquid. In every moment there is beauty, uniqueness, a lesson. In every moment. How many lessons do we miss every minute, every hour, every day?

How often do you eat, chewing unconsciously, swallowing bite after bite, shoveling food into your mouth while your mind is on other tasks? How often do you ignore your present moment? How often do you ignore your body and its needs and its experience? How often do your mind and body act in unison?