An invitation to savor

​What is your most recent gift to yourself?  How long ago was it?  A day, a week, a month, a year?  Our lives are so hectic, constantly running from one obligation or activity to the next.  What would it be like to give yourself five minutes of time each day?
 
We’ve all heard “you must take care of yourself before you can take care of someone else.”  Each time we travel in an airplane, we hear the safety speech.  “in the event of a loss in cabin pressure or oxygen, face masks will descend.  Carefully strap the mask onto your face before helping those around you.”  Putting your mask on first will take care of your body’s oxygen needs so that you can put a mask on someone else without passing out.  If you neglect to put your own mask on first, you run the risk of passing out before placing the mask on another person.  This is a dire, but effective illustration of the importance of taking care of yourself so you can take care of someone else.
 
Giving yourself five minutes can increase your emotional resilience, making it easier to deal with the recalcitrant teenager, the thoughtless coworker, or the demanding customer.  Take just five minutes away from the telephone, the commute, the television, the social media.  During that five minutes, I invite you to savor.
 
Savor
transitive verb
to give flavor to: season
to have experience of: taste
to taste or smell with pleasure: relish
to delight in: enjoy 
savoring the moment
                credit:  Merriam Webster
 
Take those five minutes and indulge yourself.  If you like chocolate, savor a piece.  If you like walks, savor a five-minute stroll.  If you like sunshine, savor the rays on your face.  Whatever your indulgence, stop everything else and simply savor the experience.  Stop the noise, the internal chatter.  Don’t worry about the dishes or the laundry, just appreciate that five minutes.  Take time to really appreciate your savory five minutes.  At the end of five minutes say, “Thank you” and move back into your busy day, fueled by five minutes of savoring.  What will you savor today?
 
 
Hey!  The Gratitude Journaling class starts tomorrow, and it is free.  Sign up today! 

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