leftovers!) See the recipe.
Hey, how about potlucks with the neighbourhood crew on the first Friday of
the month?
Doesn’t matter what you do. It just matters that you do.
ROLE OF SOUL 3:
Be Mindful of the Experience
I’ll admit I have a few skills I’m proud of. I’m a good listener, have a decent-for-
my-age backhand in tennis, and can still finesse my way around a chest cavity in
the OR. But here’s a skill I’ve had to develop over the last decade or so: I
practise what it means to be really aware of what I am eating. I’m not talking
about counting every calorie or gram of sugar in my meals; instead, I try to go
deep into the sensory wonder of food.
This is what’s called mindful eating—the ability to slow down, savour the
flavours, shut out distractions, and really embrace food as more than just
sustenance, but as an experience.
Mealtime should be the ultimate smell-the-roses moment, when you stop to
engage all your senses. Smell and taste are no-brainers. But so is sight—I try to
appreciate what good food looks like, too. Fun fact: A study published in the
journal Appetite looked at people’s enjoyment of meals with the exact same
ingredients where one was presented more attractively than the other. It’s no
surprise that study participants said the artfully plated meal tasted better.
THE 24-HOUR MINDFULNESS CHALLENGE
One day in the next week or so, I want you to do four things every time
you eat:1 . Your eyes must be on your food and other people (not on a screen
of any sort) when you eat. Really savour as you chew and swallow.
Take a bite and put your utensil down. Take another.
2 . Think about at least one other sense besides taste. What’s the