Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Savor

Savor: taste (food or drink) and enjoy it completely; enjoy or appreciate (something pleasant) completely.
~Synonyms: relish, enjoy (to the full), appreciate, delight in, revel in, luxuriate in, bask in

I am enamored with this word and for all it means. In terms of food, not many have this down. To truly savor something, there is a strategy. One must eat slow, enjoying each and every little bite. Savoring involves the smell, the look, the feel, and the atmosphere. One cannot simply make eating food a matter of the taste buds. Every little aspect counts, for, a good cookie is not as good in front of a television at midnight as it is right out of the oven, next to your mother who took time and care to make it with you. The food needs good company. No one should savor alone. One must focus on only the piece of art that they are eating when they are eating. The food must be pretty. As I learned in What's 4 Dessert, presentation is everything. Take a lesson from little kids,  any food that is not beautiful is not worth eating. If the texture or smell is not perfect, the consumption will not be savored. Finally, the food needs good company. If anything throws off the experience, why eat it? Why even waste the calories?

Before you think I am food critic, I will tell you that I am more of a life critic. Isn't that what we writers are anywho? I am not so much interested in savoring my chocolate chip cookie as I am in savoring my life. Although, savoring a chocolate chip cookie right now would probably be a very good idea.

There is also a strategy to savoring life. I want to savor every morsel, every bite. I want to make it beautiful and worthwhile.  I don't want to waste time with diverted focus. I want to be fully present in every single moment of my life. The details count- the smells, the textures, the atmosphere, the company, the presentation. 

I wonder, how much of my life am I truly savoring? How much am I living each moment? Enjoying it, appreciating it to the full?

Have you ever seen someone who does this? They don't waste time with the food that isn't worth it. They don't eat the food that isn't the best for their life. That is to say, they do not worry about the things that don't matter. They purge their lives of the cares which cages the world in such obsession. Their lives are void of absent minded meals. Instead, they live every day, enjoying every moment to the full, with good company and with beauty.  

Abundant- existing or available in large quantities, plentiful; extreme
~Synonyms: rich, lavish, abounding, bountiful, overflowing, prolific

In return for savor, one receives abundance. 

Savoring life means living life abundantly. The two go hand in hand. 

Please, do not miss your life. Do not forget to savor. Focus on the eternal- what matters.  Close your eyes and smell the aroma. Open them and behold its beauty. Bite slow, chew on every morsel, swallow with care. Share it with others. Do not savor alone. 

And finally, live life abundantly.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You know what, Sweetie Pie?

You have discovered at an early age what few people discover in a life time. Congrats & Savor away!

Grandpa Pierce

J.S. said...

On Onions or Love: Interesting comparative analogy. I like onions sometimes, but the crap-love-onion makes me sick. It gets even worse when there are [Christians] who use this "love" with God's name as the ultimate enforcement.

Savor. I don't think I've ever savored food. It's been a long time since I savored time with friends and family.

Thank you for the reminder.

Ashley said...

i will make sure I swallow with care....i mean i definitely don't want to choke or anything.

Doug Brown said...

I agree. SAVOR!

Theres So many things that If We'll never experience twice.

Heidi Michelle Williams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Heidi Michelle Williams said...

Jillian Pierce! I miss you, ma'am. Hope you're having a wonderful *Christmas break...aaand I'm praying for you, and thankful for all these little reminders you send us.

PS - ...and that's why we have chocolate time... ;)
PPS - HAHA, so the first time I posted this, I definitely wrote "fall break" which was two months ago. There is now snow on the ground, and not colorful leaves. :p

Anonymous said...

I savored your company at Grandma's house. It was so nice to know you took the time to come visit. The opportunities for such a treat are fewer and fewer. Thank you Jillian. May you have an abundance of good memories!
Love,
Aunt Patty

Stephanie said...

NEW POOOOOOSSSTTTTT.

Lyndsey said...

hey poetry buddy!

i randomly stumbled across your blog after clicking around randomly among cedar-people. i'm aware that you haven't made a new post in awhile, but in the event that you do come back, i'll follow!

lyndsey