Thursday night. Old Town, Alexandria, VA. Our whirlwind trip to Washington, DC took us across the Potomac in search of a quick bite to eat as we prepared to head back north to our next destination.
We had packed quite a bit into a few days, and a relaxing dinner took us out of tourist mode for a little while. Sometimes vacations take on the same intensity vacations are supposed to take you away from. We managed to hit everything on the wish list, but we were always aware of where we were on our schedule.
After dinner we stumbled upon a small gelato shop. As an avid frozen treat consumer, stopping in was the easiest decision of the trip. After trying a few flavor samples, I settled upon the pistachio.
I’ve shed a great many less-than-healthy food vices in my lifetime. I’ve come to realize over the years the real issue for me, though, has less to do with the actual vice and more to do with my relationship with moderation. Cookies, donuts, alcohol, and caffeine were never ingested with moderation. If it was worth doing, it was worth over doing.
Especially when it came to frozen treats.
In my hand was a small cup of pistachio gelato. In my other hand was one of those annoyingly small plastic gelato spoons. As someone with a proven track record of over indulgence, the annoyingly small size of this spoon made over indulgence a substantial challenge for me.
Maybe that was the whole point?
As an over indulger, it’s always about the next bite. I’m sure the current bite is quite good, but honestly I usually never take the time to notice. The focus is on what’s next instead of what’s now.
You can miss a great deal of your life when your attention is on what’s next instead of what’s now.
My first mindfulness practitioners spoke of the importance of allowing yourself to be present enough to notice the details found in the present moment. To simply notice, to allow all your senses to be engaged in the right now. Not rushing through the present moment to get to the next one. And then to the next one.
My little gelato spoon took me back to that lesson. The focus was on this bite and taking the time to notice the attributes of the gelato…the texture, the flavor, the creaminess, the cold, even the smoothness of the little plastic spoon itself.
Which suddenly was no longer annoying.
I learn things. I will often need to re-learn them. Embracing my present moments requires my intentionality to do so and sometimes I do need a little cosmic nudge to get me back where I want to be. There is a profound sense of foundational peace I experience when I am non-judgmentally present, and I’m grateful for the lessons and reminders the universe often places before me.
Especially when it involves pistachio gelato.
Photo by Phil Hearing on Unsplash
Peter Mis LivingHalfFull.com 