Chew Your Life Well

Remember to chew life well.

Wait, what?

So a little background is in order here.  I was recently listening to a great podcast by my friend Corey Little (link to his website below), who gives some really good insight on how to enjoy food, instead of just eating it.  One common problem with eating is that we just eat so dang fast, and are usually distracted by multiple things while we eat.  This naturally will reduce our enjoyment of the meal.

One simple suggestion he gave, among many, was this – remember to chew your food well.  And slowly.  Take your time while eating, and savor each bite.  Your will enjoy your food so much more by taking this simple step.

I can inhale a taco.  It’s almost as if tacos were designed to be eaten quickly and efficiently.  I mean, so many food groups in one bite!  But this got me to thinking – was I really enjoying them?  So I decided to test out Corey’s theory – I ordered some great pulled pork tacos at a local dive during a quick weekend getaway with my family, and I sat down with them in front of me.

And I made a conscious decision to chew each bite well.  And slowly.

Do you know what?  It worked.  The tacos were delicious, and I’m 100% certain that I enjoyed them so much more by slowing down and chewing well.  There were subtle combinations of flavors that I would have missed had I just inhaled the tacos per usual.  I paid attention to textures, which I normally wouldn’t have given a second thought to.  What could have been a perfunctory meal was transformed into a memorable experience, all by simply chewing my food well.  And Simply.  Slowing.  Down.

A thought dawned on me.  If this works with tacos, could it also work with…well…life??

I know that I’m not the only busy person out there.  I have an amazing family, but with four kids (ages 7-14) I’ll be danged if my wife and I don’t feel like Manager/Organizer/Sustenance Creator/Cleaner/Uber all at the same time – all the time.  Between the four kids, there’s always that next thing to think about during the day.  While reading with the youngest, I’m thinking about what time I have to leave to pick up the oldest from volleyball.  When taking one son home from football and asking how practice went, I’m thinking about getting home to help get another son showered and in bed.  Want to play Battleship?  Well, yeah, but I know there’s this list of other stuff that I have to do as well…

I could go on, but I imagine all of you get the picture, and are nodding your heads knowingly at the same time.  This is just a very busy season of life.  Don’t get me wrong – a busy, vibrant, full life is wonderful and a gift from God, and I love every second of it, even though parts can be really hard.  But I find myself rushing through moments.  I have to do this, because then I have to do this other thing.  I’m thinking ahead to the next three steps, which takes away from being in the moment, from being in the right now. 

As as physician, I am unfortunately trained to operate this way.  My day at work is organized into 10 minute increments.  Literally.  My internal clock is incredibly tuned to these 10 minute blocks, and as the end of a block approaches, my internal alarms start going off, telling me that I need to prepare for the next patient, or answer these phone messages, or respond to these refill requests.  It is hard for me to turn this switch completely off when I go home to my family. 

The frustrating thing is – if I’m really honest – tackling life this way doesn’t make me any more efficient.  It just makes me more distracted.

I’m inhaling my Life Taco.  When I made a decision to chew my taco well – and slowly – I wasn’t as distracted with everything else going on around me.  And I enjoyed the taco so much more.  So am I missing out on these moments in life as well?  If I slowed down – if I chewed life well – could I enjoy these moments so much more?  Would I then notice and appreciate all the flavors and textures that make life moments so memorable?  Especially those moments that I share with the ones I love the most?

So recently I’ve decided to make a conscious effort to try this.  Chew Life Well.  And Slowly.  It’s become a little mantra of mine, and I try to remind myself of it often.  In moments, don’t be so distracted thinking about the next thing.

Do you know what?  It works.  A day that could be a perfunctory series of events is now more full of rich and flavorful moments.  It’s very liberating to give yourself permission to enjoy the moment you are in, and let go of worrying or planning for the moments to come.

Now look, this doesn’t change the fact that we still have responsibilities.  If I only have 20 minutes to read with one kid before I have to leave to pick up another kid from practice, then I still only have 20 minutes.  But here’s the funny thing.  Think Ahead Dad and Taco Dad will both read with their kid for 20 minutes.  But the quality of those 20 minutes is fundamentally different.  The Taco Dad 20 minutes just feels right.  And I’m certain my children can feel it as well.

I’m far from perfect at this, but I’d like to keep getting better at it.  It has to be a conscious decision.  In our current culture, we are basically indoctrinated to be distracted busy planners.  I’m going to fight against that, as best as I can.  Life is way too flavorful and enjoyable to just inhale quickly.  We were created to savor the moments.

I would encourage you to try this as well.  Try it today.  Chew Life Well.  And slowly.  Give yourself permission to enjoy just this moment, especially if you are with those who are important to you.

Treat life like a good taco.  Kinda sounds delicious when you put it that way, right?