Can You Taste The Orange?
If your life is anything like an average American, you probably spend more time than you should letting your mind and body run ragged. Sometimes my daily routine can seem as if it is being viewed through a television set and not actually taking place in reality.
A constant bombardment of stimuli has become the norm in modern society and robs us of our only precious commodity, time.
It may sound cliche to say that American’s need to spend some more time smelling the roses but American’s need to spend more time smelling the roses.
Recently I read a short story of a Zen master who was enjoying an orange with one of his students under a giant tree in their serenity garden. The teacher looked to his student and asked him to share his plans for the future. As the young man inserted piece after piece of his orange, the master could not help but notice his failure to be present in the moment.
“Can you taste the orange?” He said to him.
This awakening came as a shock to the young man. Never before had he realized that the very dreams he was speaking of were being glossed over as speedily as he ate his fruit. He grounded himself and realized the greatest treasure in life is savoring every last moment, no matter how simple, how petty or how banal it seems.
An exercise to demonstrate this concept of grounding oneself can be done simply by concentrating on the sensation of taste during the third bite of any food. Focus on every aspect of the experience of chewing, tasting, smelling, hearing and feeling the food as you enjoy it.
What is the orange in your life? For some it may be as small as the commute to work, a short conversation with a significant other or the morning coffee break. Small pieces add up to the large ones that really make the difference.
It can sneak up without warning.
Before we know it our aspirations will be diluted by passing over them with such a high rate of speed and efficiency that little evidence will exist to show for its origin.
Time is our only true finite resource. It’s time to taste the orange.
Photo compliments of Ben Gould Photography.
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