TRYING TO HOLD ONTO SUMMER

Today is a beautiful, bright, blue-skied day. I am thrilled. I love, love, love summer. Before I go to work, I go for a 4 mile run/walk on the Chesterfield Levee Trail. I will never set any speed records, but I do try to soak up every delightful sign of summer being in full swing. I greet all the dragonflies zooming back & forth over the trail. I delight in the brilliant colors and scents of wildflowers along the way. I use the sounds of birds & insects as my personalized IPOD. Even though it is hot and humid and I am soaked at the end, I feel ALIVE - which I've found at my age is a good way to feel!

There is only 1 problem with all of this summer-based ecstasy. It does not last forever. As you may have noticed, summer turns into autumn which turns into dark, dreary, bone-chilling winter here in Missouri. Perhaps you are picking up on a lack of appreciation for winter in me.

Since this whole seasonal bias thing has been going on with me for a while, I actually have some wisdom to share about this subject.

Here it is: Everything is impermanent. When we try to hold onto and grasp onto what we really like, we end up suffering, in the long run. We all grow older, get sick, lose people we love - it's inevitable. And, yes, winter with all of its dreariness does seem to come back every year. The remedy for this dilemma is to really be grateful for and mindful of what we have while we have it. My temptation is to rock my boat when I'm enjoying my run by thinking, "Well, pretty soon all the green grass & green leaves will be gone & I'll be stuck in the house!" That thought sucks all the pleasure out of my run instantly. It sure doesn't change the seasonal process, but it does change my mood which plummets.

So what is the lesson here as far as MINDFUL EATING is concerned? When we taste something that we really like, we want that good taste and good feeling to last forever. We want to grasp onto and hold onto it. We forget about whether we have had enough and are satisfied. We want that "party in our mouth" to go on forever! All good parties must come to an end. That is the sad truth.

Savor the taste of food that you really enjoy, and learn that it's okay to say, "That's enough". You will feel so much better afterwards.