Eating Mindfully

It took Anth 6 months to learn that it’s not a good idea to tell me important things when we’re eating. His mom was telling me something when we were having dinner tonight. He told her, “don’t talk to Julie when she’s eating, she won’t hear you.”

I looked at him, pleasantly surprised. He realized it.

It’s not that I don’t want to pay attention to my meal companions, or the video we happened to be watching as we eat. In fact, I do engage in conversations and watch the videos, I’m just not entirely there.

In this world of distraction, our attention are almost always scattered. I grew up having my meals with the TV on, and these days we have our smart phones. Some things never change.

But, ever since I got here and started to cook our own meals, I realized how much effort it takes to make a meal.

I learnt from taking care of the garden, how much work it took farmers to grow the food or raise the livestock we consume.

Watching the plants grow and fruit showed me the magic and generosity of nature.

Yet we often take food for granted, even when we know that people are starving in some parts of the world.

So my attention gets drawn involuntarily to the food I’m eating, be it a piece of buttered toast, a humble bowl of soup, or a beautiful plate of pasta with homemade red sauce. I started eating mindfully.

When I eat, I focus on the texture of the food and the different flavors interacting. Conversations get tuned out, and I take my time and savor the taste. It brings me a lot of enjoyment, gratitude and strangely enough, peace.

He said it’s a kind of meditation, and that is right. Whenever you put your attention to something you’re doing – being mindful, you’re essentially meditating. That includes eating mindfully.

So, the next time you eat, switch the TV off or set down your phone. Give your meal the attention it deserves, even if it is a frozen dinner. Your body and mind would thank you.