It's all about the joy of it...today using taste.

How is your sense of taste?  Do you experience it to its fullest?

I just realized as I wrote that ... I probably do not.  I rush through things much too quickly.  I know I eat fast.  I think anyone who has ever been to college or worked in a setting where you have limited time to eat develops the ability to inhale food without realizing what anything tastes like. You only have so long to eat...so let's get it done!  It is a habit I still have..

I like the idea of savoring tastes but why don't I do it?  Good question to ponder...

Taste like other senses can remind you of things in the past that have brought you joy and ...well not so much joy.  One memory from my childhood continues to be when my mom made a lemon pie.  My mom is usually a great cook...this time she missed the mark ... well how far off can one go?  That's where she was!!!

I can still see the four of us kids around the kitchen table with our dad.  Mom brought over the pie and we all got some.  As we started to eat...yuck!  It tasted like floor cleaner...it was horrible!  We all looked up and our dad seeing our faces said we had to eat it or we would hurt our mom's feelings.  So we did.  We choked it down.  To this day I cannot start eating a pie of lemon pie without a brief pause as the memory of that taste comes back to me. :)

Do you have memories of tastes that bring you joy? Do you savor tastes or fly by them?  Writing this I realize that taste is a sense I need to experience more.  What a wonderful discovery to make...in a world filled with zillion of tastes...ah, where do I start :) ?!

Tomorrow...touch.

Comments

[Tanya Boggs]

The joy of taste, what could be better! I am such a foodie, so I LOVE to savor the flavors. These are great reminders that we could all slow down, be more present and really appreciate what is being offered in the moment. Thanks for the reminder!

[Lee Lonitz]

You're right...people sometimes scarf down their food just to finish the deal of a trivial meal. This probably explains why we stop to savor more expensive dishes when we're out at fine dining restaurants.

What I've learned recently that it is important to have 'mindfulness'. When we eat, we should turn off distractions both external and internal and just focus on the food and its taste and nourishment. If you ever visit a Buddhist temple for lunch, you'll see exactly what I mean!

Also, I understand that turning off certain senses when eating can heighten others. I would love to try 'dining in the dark,' where the lights are turned out so you can't see your food and you have to rely on your sense of 'taste' along with smell to savor your food.