What can we do to get more enjoyment out of our life?

“Savor Time” like you would savor a good meal!  It is interesting that we can talk about savoring a good meal but when is the last time you heard anyone talk about savoring time? We seem to move so fast that time to savor time is practically non-existent.  So how would it feel to “savor” time?  When we savor a good meal, we linger over it, tasting every morsel very slowly and with great attention and concentration.  We let the flavors drift into our body and we enjoy the smells and texture of the food.  A steak has one aroma, roast chicken another and a good salad quite a different set of aromas and tastes.  Can you imagine trying to enjoy a good meal if there were no aromas and textures to the meal? 

If we were to do the same thing over every morsel of time and over every portion of time, would that make our appreciation of our lives any different or any better?  It just might. I think we could all gain a greater appreciation for moments of happiness, sadness and loneliness. Funerals give us a time to savor the flavor of sadness.  Funerals become healing time for the survivors.  The time to linger over the flavor of death is essential to the healing process.  Weddings are a time to taste and smell the flavor of great happiness and romance. Family holidays give us equal portions of nostalgia and joy as we reunite we those whom we have not seen for months or years. It seems like we need special events in our lives before we can take time to “smell the roses.”

What if we could learn to savor time on a regular basis?  The time you are alive and well today may someday be a great banquet that you will never be able to feast on again. Every day I wake up healthy and well fed is a day of abundance.  If I do not take the time to savor these days, I am missing out on the joy of living. When I finally learn to appreciate the days that I have to savor, it might be too late. 

A few years ago, a fish market in Seattle became famous and started a "fish" fad.  The workers there did something very novel.  They had fun at work.  They got their jobs done but they took the time to savor life while still at work. Their lives were not on hold from 9 to 5 and they were imminently absorbed with each moment of their day.  Many organizations started "fish" training and while it was well intentioned they did not really see the point. It was not just about throwing a fish or even having fun, it was about savoring each minute of life.  It was about being fully in the present and not living in the past or future.  

See if you can savor just a few morsels of time today. Which ones did you find worth lingering over? What was the experience like? How much more enjoyable would life be if you could savor time more?  If you did not find any good morsels, then ask yourself why not?  What would it take for you to find some times that were worth savoring? Do you have enough good tastes in your life? Where can you go to improve the quality of your “banquet?”