Savor

My husband and I love peaches. Every growing season, we count the months until the local peaches come in. As soon as our friend Kenny from Bolton appears in his booth at the Belmont Farmer’s Market, we start buying peaches and eating them with great relish.

We love peaches over cereal, with ice cream, in a pie, as cobbler. But this year, we’ve been eating the peaches all by themselves, without other food, focusing singularly on their flavor.

A few years ago, there was a badly-timed frost in February that killed ALL of the peaches in the state. We were bereft! The following year, the peaches came back. And, this year, the crop is exemplary.

They have been so extraordinary that, as well as eating them “solo” – without other foods to distract me from their flavor – I’ve also stopped doing anything else while I eat my morning peach. When it’s time for my peach, I forgo reading a book or catching up on email. I am fully present to the sweetness, juiciness, and texture of each bite.

I am savoring my peaches. I close my eyes, I roll them around my tongue, I often involuntarily exclaim, “Yum!”

“Savor: taste and enjoy completely, especially by dwelling on it.”

Savoring my daily peaches is teaching me to savor other moments. We can savor more than just what we taste. Other senses can invite dwelling on and cherishing the moment.

This afternoon, I stood on the front patio of the Plymouth Library awed by the unusual cloud patterns. The feel of the grass under my feet delights me as I sit in my back yard. Catching sight of Jupiter in the night sky, I marvel at the size of this huge and far-away planet.

Sitting for my daily spiritual practice, I savor my connection with the Divine, with my inner Self, with the well-being that is present overall in my life.

How do we savor? Stop, notice, breathe. Take some time. Calm the mind and focus. Let the experience register.

Ask yourself, “Am I present?” The question brings the consciousness. You’re there. Hold it gently. Connect with it. Treasure it.

A spiritual lesson from a peach? Absolutely. Spiritual lessons are everywhere, we just need to notice them.

We just need to savor them.