I'd long forgotten the creative joy I could feel through cooking, thinking only about finishing as quickly as possible. At the table, too, as if being chased, I wolf it down and finish the meal without the pleasure of savoring taste. That is, I'm merely living fast-fast, not living 'properly'.
According to one study, 74% of Americans in the 1960s felt they were always or often busy; by 1995 the figure rose to 87%. (p. 253)
From Steve Taylor's 'The Second Time' (Yongoleum)
Lately I've been trying to concentrate on the food when I eat. I used to see meals simply as a means and finish them as quickly as if chased, but one day I suddenly thought I was missing something. Now I try to focus on each dish slowly, feel it, and savor it. It turns out to be a great happiness I didn't know before — as long as you watch your weight.
It's a busy world. Time-saving conveniences of civilization keep appearing, yet we feel busier. One study reports 74% of Americans in the 1960s felt they were always or often busy, rising to 87% in 1995. The busier things get, the more we need the effort to hold our 'center'.
If we're always just busy, we might focus only on the 'future', not the 'present', and life could pass by without ever having really lived the 'now'.
When eating, exercising, or walking, we need to hush the 'busy thoughts' and take a little time to focus on the act itself and on ourselves doing it.
" Suddenly remembered something an older sister I know once said.
Hey — live a little easier. Work yourself to death like that while piling on insurance, pensions, savings every single month, and you'll get sick and die instead —
Source: Ye Byung-il's Economic Notes
▶ Ye Byung-il's Economic Notes — Twitter: @yehbyungil / Facebook: www.facebook.com/yehbyungil
