The Lost Art of Savoring

My five-year-old niece is sitting in karate class.  The instructor asks the kids in class a question.  “What is your favorite meal?”  One by one the kids answer:  Pasta!  Hamburgers!  Pizza!  My niece answers:  “Dessert.”  She absolutely adores dessert.  One of her favorites is chocolate.

 

She loves dessert so much that she eats it too quick. And then she wants more. And that ultimately takes most of the enjoyment out of it.  Then she gets that cute little look on her face.  She’s in a little quandary.  She so wants more, but her Mommy is trying to make sure she eats as nutritionally as possible.  She is disappointed because:

 

1. She had only a few moments to enjoy something she loves.
2. She is done with dessert and is left slightly frustrated because she won’t be getting anymore.

 

So I taught her how to “savor” with a small piece of chocolate.  I told her to let it slowly melt in her mouth.  We had a contest to see who would make the chocolate last longer and she won.  She saw the benefits to savoring:  it was much more pleasurable than wolfing down dessert in a heartbeat.  When her Mom noticed her eating her dessert slowly one day, she got concerned!  She said…

 

”What’s wrong…why are you eating your dessert so slowly?” 

 

My niece replied with a contented voice…

 

”I’m savoring.”

 

Ahhhh….savoring.  When was the last time you, gracious reader, savored?  Was it when you were on vacation at the beach?  When you were lying on the beach, listening to the rush of the waves, feeling the warm breeze lightly caressing your skin, enjoying the warm soothing bright light of the beaming sun on your face?

 

All of us should savor more everyday.  Savoring takes practice.  Savoring is an art.  The French savor when they eat.  I’ve read French people observe the meal as it’s set before them.  They admire the presentation.  They breathe deeply the aromas coming from the plate.  They discuss the many nuances to the meal: texture, seasoning, where the flavors hit in their mouths: tongue, lips, back of the mouth. 

 

The French are passionate about food.  Savoring is passion!  Passion for the moment you are experiencing….right now.  Savoring is pleasure.  So let’s all start right now and here are some ideas for you:

 

Close your eyes and savor the moment, and breathe deeply.

Eat and savor your meal tonight like the French do.

Tickle someone.

Savor a piece of chocolate like my niece does.

 

Next:  Living with passion like this can be exhausting, or not.  Your choice!