Mindful Eating

On Ash Wednesday, we ate our meal(s) in silence at the monastery. As a result, I was much more attentive to the taste, texture, and amount of the food I ate than usual. As the poet Jane Hirshfield says, “Attention alters what it touches.” The food itself wasn’t altered, but my appreciation for it was.

Several years ago I attended a course on mindful eating. I remember an exercise in which we spent about two minutes eating a single potato chip. Eating the chip that slowly and attentively made me realize how greasy and unappetizing it was…and yet, how many times have I mindlessly devoured half a bag of such chips in a single sitting?

I also recall a story of an immigrant who had come to the United States from a country where she and her family experienced great deprivation. The first time she was taken to a grocery store, she burst into tears because of the bounty spread out before her. I can’t remember the last time I marveled at all the fresh produce and well-stocked shelves at my local grocery store.

Eating is such an integral, repetitive part of life that it’s difficult to do it mindfully. However, eating slowly and in silence, and fasting from certain foods now and then, are tools that can awaken our senses…including our sense of gratitude.