Business Coach and Business Coaching
Do You Taste Your Food?
By Carol A. Briney
Jul 2, 2008

This question was asked of me one day as I sat in a hotel restaurant glancing hurriedly at my watch as I ate my lunch. My mind was far away on my next speaking engagement as I mentally listed and planned all of the projects I needed to have completed before I even arrived home from this event. My mind was going one hundred miles-a-minute, and I was not thinking about my present situation of eating lunch in the cool, clean, café and enjoying the delicious taste of the food I was eating. Imagine my surprise when the waitress, an older, yet timeless women asked me, “do you taste your food?” This question stopped me cold. I had never thought about it before. I suddenly realized that although I speak on organizing, simplifying life and learning to say “no thank you” I too had portions of my life that were spinning out of control. I too had times when I forgot to live in the present moment and just enjoy what was happening right then. This one thought provoking question gave me a lot to ponder. How many times do I miss the world going on around me because my mind is onto the next thing on my agenda? How many opportunities to be of service to someone or just smile and be kind to someone?

It is ironic that it is now so trendy to be “too busy”. So much of what we are about is doing. We rush though our days from work, to home, to dinner, to a movie and we never take the time to enjoy any of it. We often take a strange sort of pride in our busyness. So much of our sense of worth comes from our busyness. Could it be that we are attaching value to the doing instead of who we are as we are doing it? How many things are we missing because we are always thinking of what comes next?

It is important to remember that we are called human beings and not human doings. As a human being, I urge you to move towards a simplified life. Start thinking about all of the things that you do just because someone, usually the media, told you that you should. Are
up in the trivialities of life? So many times we buy things, we attend events, we watch movies and television programs, we vacation all because it is trendy or the media told us that is how we should live. Worse yet, while we are doing and purchasing we are not even enjoying the moment, we are thinking about what we could do next.

As you scrutinize your life and how you spend your time I believe you will realize for yourself what is important is not the quantity of the activities that you participate in, but who you are and what you accomplish by doing them. It is ok to say no thank you to things that you do not enjoy in your life. In fact, once you start saying no to the things you really don’t care for you will feel a sense of freedom that you have most likely not felt in years.

Remember the old saying, Stop and Smell the Roses? I urge you to take the time to do just that. Our time on this planet is short. We are here to learn, evolve, and grow spiritually. In order for this to happen we need to be present. It is important to enjoy and be grateful for what is unfolding each moment of our lives.

I find it interesting that I have always heard; when the student is ready the teacher appears. I guess I was ready that day in the restaurant, because I have finally realized that time is the only thing I cannot store up during my journey on this planet. Each minute goes marching by whether I use it or not and that time will never be back. I have learned that it is important to be in the moment. Spirit spoke to me in that restaurant, yes the words were spoken through a delightful waitress, but it was Spirit all the same. Take the time to actually taste your food. You just might be surprised at what you have been missing.

Until next time, I wish you the true riches of life, love, peace, happiness, and the time to enjoy it all. Carol Briney is a Speaker, Trainer, and Home based business consultant. She can be reached at Carol@CarolBrineyWorkFromHome.com 412.781.8773 www.CarolBrineyWorkFromHome.com