Mindful eating

I get emails from a Buddhist group in Vietnam who run events like special lunches with mindful eating as a type of meditation. they also do walking meditation and the most lovely thing - mindful listening. At these sessions some people come to talk and get things off their chest, and people who are feeling calm and happy act as empathatic listeners - kind of chaotic self organising counselling. I plan to eat my leftovers mindfully today, and not look at lunch as a distraction between two busy tasks.

" When I was four years old, my mother used to bring me a cookie every time she came home from the market. I always went to the front yard and took my time eating it, sometimes half an hour or forty-five minutes for one cookie. I would take a small bite and look up at the sky. Then I would touch the dog with my feet and take another small bite. I just enjoyed being there, with the sky, the earth, the bamboo thickets, the cat, the dog, the flowers. I was able to do that because I did not have much to worry about. I did not think of the future, I did not regret the past. I was entirely in the present moment, with my cookie, the dog, the bamboo thickets, the cat, and everything. It is possible to eat our meals as slowly and joyfully as I ate the cookie of my childhood. Maybe you have the impression that you have lost the cookie of your childhood, but I am sure it is still there, somewhere in your heart. Everything is still there, and if you really want it, you can find it. Eating mindfully is a most important practice of meditation." - Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step