Recently, I noticed myself rushing.
And seeing it left me changed in some way.
Weirdly, my enlightening revelation happened while I was eating a delicious meal that I'd quickly thrown together for myself.
What happened was this.
It was the middle of a week day and I still had a number of things to do.
I was sitting alone at my kitchen table and my food had turned out better than I expected.
It was so good!
And I was hungry.
So looking back on it now, I see there were two points of pressure on me.
One, I was hungry.
Two, I was aware that I had a limited amount of time.
Now that on its own is a recipe for rushing a meal, isn’t it?
But it was a particular moment that changed something.
For no particular reason, with my mouth full of food, I suddenly became aware that I was hurriedly swallowing this delicious mouthful of food in order to quickly get to the next one.
It struck me as a really odd thing to do.
I thought, why am I rushing away this food that’s in my mouth right now in order to get to the next mouthful?
It made no sense.
The next bite of food was going to be the same as the one I already had in my mouth.
So why was I rushing to grab something that I already had?
I was missing out on really tasting and experiencing my food because of my eagerness for the very food I was eating!
And that simple moment struck me as so deep and profound.
Because it really was just me and me sitting there in my kitchen rushing through my yummy food.
Why? Why would I do this?
It made me think of all the many wonderful things I have in my life, and how often I’m looking at the next step, the next thing, what’s still ahead……
Rushing through the present moment instead of being in it and relishing it.
Casting it aside in the hope that the next one will be… I don’t know… The better one? The right one? The one that will fix the urgency? Make me be able to exhale and relax?
That’s a lot to put on the next moment, isn’t it?
And it's an illusion.
What you have in this moment right now, is what you already have.
If you don't stay present and appreciate it now, you won't appreciate the next thing either.
Then you land up just rushing through your whole life, missing out on what you have and remain hungry only for whatever's next.
It can leave you feeling starving even as you eat.
It left me very thoughtful.
I've decided to take a month to practice doing things differently.
I hope you join me.
This coming month in The Portal of Permission is going to be a special month.
We’re going to be using food and eating as a way to become present in our moments.
We’re going to explore mindful eating to help us enjoy and appreciate our lives more!
So if you have a difficult relationship with food...
If you have a fractious relationship with your body…
If you rush a lot and realise that you’re not often present in your own life…
If you live with anxiety and worry about the next moment…
This month of simple practices and community will support you
I hope to see you there - even if you just join for this month.
It's a monthly membership so you can leave anytime.
Let's do this together. Click HERE for The Portal.
If I loved myself, where would I give myself permission today?
If you're craving a gentler, less nervous-system-frazzled life, and you want to learn very practical ways of looking after yourself better, you'll find that HERE.
