At a recent bed-and-breakfast experience in Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada, we looked forward to breakfast as we made our way down a beautiful old staircase, wooden and creaky in all its glory.
Stepping into the dining room, we were met with the blended aromas of coffee, hash browned potatoes, and quiche. Now I have never thought of myself as someone who eats particularly fast, but as Leo and I both were finishing up about 20 minutes later, our host stepped into the room and with a look of surprise, says “Wow, that was fast!”. I’d like to think he was in awe of our mealtime speed, but I think he was genuinely shocked. I wanted to crawl under the table. Although it became a bit of a run-on joke after that between Leo and I all weekend, it made me stop and think.
Do I really enjoy a meal, savor each bite, taking the time to make the meal more than just food going in?
Or do I shovel it in, ready to get on to the next task at hand?
I have come to realize that quite often I eat on the go. When I was working at the hospital, I ate food in the car all the time as I was driving. I do not recommend doing that with a hot bowl of Ramen noodles. When they spill onto your lap, trust me when I say it wasn’t worth the extra minutes I thought I was saving. Now, I schedule the people that I see with a half hour in between and I am often eating in a 10 minute span whilst standing up or doing things at the same time. Always busy, always with the next task in mind, and never really taking time to make meal time what it could be.
For the remainder of our time in Niagara, I wanted to be intentional about the meals that we had. We went to the Skylon Tower and we had a 90 minute reservation. Some of that included ordering our meal and waiting, but we both enjoyed the incredible view, and the atmosphere. I made it a point to put down my utensils as I chewed rather than having my fork ready to stab the next bite. We conversed, we laughed, we were silent, but we were present for all 90 minutes.
Breakfast the next morning at the B&B? Oh, I was ready. As we sat down across from each other in the dining room, I poured a cup of coffee, breathing deep and enjoying the morning. Our host came in and turned on a vintage record player in the corner, and soon the vinyl was spinning and Nat King Cole was crooning. Atmosphere matters. Setting the tone, the intention makes a difference. We didn’t linger at the table for an hour, but we were there for 30 minutes as we enjoyed another thoughtfully prepared meal.
This morning, I was ready to rush out the door with a cup of coffee in hand to go do my training, but I stopped as I realized how easy it is to fall into a habit. I put everything down, took my coffee outside and sat in the cool morning air, the aroma of Autumn filling my senses and I savored the time and space.
In a world where everything is fast and chaotic, I am thankful for time to slow down and breathe deep. To be present.
"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf
Love, Dianne
