Being present
Not too long ago, I was told that I should be more present no matter what I’m doing. It’s not the first time I’ve heard it, but for some reason, today was different! I was ready to apply it, or at least try it.
For some reason, at around the same time, the following quote was on my mind a lot as well.
Eating whilst watching something on some sort of screen
The specific example we were discussing was eating. I’ve often thought about parents using something visual on a screen to distract their children whilst they’re feeding them, but thus far, I’ve not felt such a strong resistance to the thought of me choosing to watch something whilst eating.
I’ve often felt drawn towards wanting mealtimes to be a time to catch up, share news, and connect. I think this can, at best, be done half-heartedly if there’s some programme running in the background. However, this feeling has either faded away or the people I was sharing a meal with, had their own reasons to not want to connect, so eating and watching something continued!
Ready for change
I’m not sure what made me ready to implement this change, or what brought about the determination to stick with it, but within a day or two of having that conversation, I tried and tested eating a meal without having a screen in front of me. I was quite shocked because, before the end of the meal, I had realised a number of things!
My experience of mindfully eating
- I found that I was aware of when I was content or nearly full, rather than, continuing to shovel food into my mouth without realising that I didn’t need to keep eating
- I felt satisfied when I ‘listened’ to what my body was telling me
- I was more aware of the flavours and textures in the meal
- I felt calmer and more peaceful, although I hadn’t realised that was absent in meals before now
Fancy a challenge?
I would love for you try eating mindfully and share your experiences with me.
