Each Bite

The French know how to eat. I have learnt not to try rush my friend Arthur when he is armed with a fork. He will not stand and eat. He will not hurry up. Mindfulness sometimes gets thought of as a new age redressing of old age religion with a few new words. Maybe for some. Another way of thinking of mindfulness is of thinking of the French eating. They savour each bite. They are aware of the flavour, the texture, the smell and the way the food looks. They celebrate the story behind the food. How it was grown. Where it was grown. Who grew it. Why they grew it. They eat slowly. They chew. You can be the most hard core of rationalists and see the appeal in that. Mindfulness is just the process of savouring life. Of enjoying the story.

Arthur and I at the end of Movember 2012

My dream is to help create more 'third places' - not home, not work - where people can go to experience 'dining hall happiness' together. A place where learning can be more like Tapas. Instead of learning specifically for work purposes, we can also learn to savour life and all it has to offer. We can access the juice by doing new things. We can share those ideas with each other. Instead of treating life like a baby gulping down their milk, unsure of if they are ever going to get any more, we can learn a thing or two from the French. We can be less scared. We can pay attention to each bite.