October Mindfulness Challenge – Day 11 – Mindful Eating
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One thing I’d really like to be more mindful about is eating. I eat fast. Way too fast. Like a-school-of-piranha-feasting-on-a-side-of-beef fast. As a result, rarely if ever do I fully appreciate and enjoy my meal. (And I’m sure it doesn’t exactly heighten the dining experience of those around me.)
My kids, on the other hand, are just the opposite. Like most children, they see eating as more of a punishment than a necessary and pleasurable part of human life. They eat slowly, as if they’re dissecting a frog in science class, carefully examining each bite before they ingest it and pretty much gagging the entire time. Kids sure are weird.
The only time I’m really ever mindful when I’m eating is when I’m at a nice restaurant and the food is really expensive. (So basically never.) In these rare situations, I eat like it’s my last meal before heading to the electric chair. I take a bite, set down my fork, and then chew the food slowly and deliberately before swallowing and moving on to the next.
It’s only when I’m eating cheap food (i.e., the food I eat every other day of my life) that I woof it down like a mastiff with a pork chop.
It’s the same with drinking. I always savor that first sip of beer or wine (usually because I drink the good stuff up front). But by my third one, it’s like I’m bypassing my tongue altogether and going straight for the liver. I’ve been thinking that if I could just be more mindful about my drinking, I’d be able to do what the doctors suggest and limit myself to only 1-2 drinks per day.
Ha! That’s a good one! I kill me sometimes.
Of course, it’s the same with drinking as with eating: the more expensive the drink, the slower my intake. It’s just difficult for me to justify buying a 750-ml bottle of wine for $30 when I can get a whole box of Franzia (the equivalent of four bottles!) for half the price.
You call it cheap; I call it being a savvy shopper.
Starting tomorrow, I’m going to do my best to be a more mindful eater/drinker. I will chew each bite slowly and savor the flavor (even if it’s just a can of Spam from Aldi). I will sip my glass of beer or wine and appreciate the subtlety of flavor in each and every mouthful (even if it’s a gallon jug of Paisano). After all, just with life as a whole, eating and drinking are about the journey, not the destination.
And by “destination,” I mean a nap. I always end up there eventually.~
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