Tonight I am grateful for really simple pleasures. I was thinking earlier today about how grateful I am to have full access to all of my physical senses–see, hear, smell, taste, touch. Those of us who are temporarily able-bodied so often take for granted those basic abilities. I’ve spoken often in these blogs about appreciating the beauty that’s all around us–the wondrous scenery that we have here in the Bay area, a transcendent piece of music, etc. But today I was thinking about the sense of taste and closely related to that the sense of smell.
Recently I’ve been reading and practicing mindfulness–being conscious and aware of the world around me. As a novice in mindfulness, I am learning some very basic tools to help me pay careful attention to the world around me as it unfolds in the present moment. One of the things I’ve been practicing recently is mindful eating–really paying attention to the taste and texture and temperature of what I am eating or drinking. It involves slowing down the process of eating to the degree that would probably drive some people nuts. So many of us unconsciously shovel food down taking very little time to even taste what we’re eating.
So in the morning I mindfully drink my coffee. I pay attention to the smell of it as I bring the mug up toward my mouth, the temperature of it as I sip it and the taste as I hold it in my mouth before swallowing. Then I enjoy the moment after I’ve swallowed. This is a pretty slow way to drink a cup of coffee, but in doing it this way I thoroughly appreciate it. It makes me think about wine tasting in the sense that I wonder what flavors I’m supposed to be picking up on as I drink my coffee. I definitely need to develop a keener palate to discern in my coffee the robustness of the beans, etc. and I really want to understand how to detect certain flavors in various wines. Unfortunately I don’t drink enough wine to have developed a very discriminating palate. So for now I’ll stick with my morning cup of joe. Mindfully drinking my coffee invites me to pay attention to what I am doing in that moment and to fully engage my senses in the business of savoring it.
I try to remember throughout the course of the day to slow down and be mindful in whatever I’m doing. At a time when we are increasingly encouraged to multitask–doing many things at the same time–there’s a lot to be said for single-tasking. I used to be a big believer in multitasking, and I still too often find myself splitting my attention in three or four different directions at once. And depending on what I’m doing, I supposed that’s okay. But I want to get better at single-tasking. This evening my daughter called me. It’s been a while since we had a long conversation so it was great to catch up with her. Sometimes when I’m on the phone I do dishes or I cook or multitask by doing some chore or another. Rather than occupy myself with a variety of tasks, I instead sat on my bed and listened and talked to her. I still could have been more mindful in my conversation with her, and I will get better.
Multitasking is an ingrained habit that will take some time to adjust, while I am simultaneously moving toward greater mindfulness–awareness of where I am and what I’m doing on a moment by moment basis. It’s a grand experiment, and I’ve no doubt it’s going to take me a while to incorporate mindfulness fully into my life. But for the time being, I can savor my coffee and truly take the time to take in the tastes, smells, sights, sounds and sensations around me.
