Taking on a Tough Challenge

Amongst all the reading I'm doing, one idea stuck with me and I'm trying it out.

Chew each bite of food at least fifty times. 

This is way more difficult than what it seems. I've made it to forty, most of the time only getting to twenty-seven or twenty-eight chews before I have to swallow, so fifty is most definitely a challenge. I am determined to continue trying, though, as I've realized just how mindless I have been about the actual act of eating.

Trying to chew a bite fifty times has forced me to pay attention to what is happening with my mouth, my tongue, my teeth, and my throat. The reflex to swallow is something I simply don't think about. I just do it. In being more mindful about each bite that is in my mouth, I've noticed the impulse to swallow. The urge to swallow happens before I even reach the count of nine or ten. That's quite a ways from fifty, so I can't swallow, and I pull all the food back up, continue chewing. At first I thought this was gross, but then I understood the why behind being forced to chew fifty times. 

It focuses the mind on just that one thing. 

And that's the only place the mind should be focused while eating if I'm going to truly simplify and be present.

Being present during the little things that we don't think about changes the entire event. In a way, the event becomes far more meaningful. From preparing the meal to sitting down and eating the meal to cleaning up afterward, every step demands a different kind of presence.

Tonight I grilled chicken breasts and pan-fried potatoes with onions. I sat down with Angel Baby and we talked all through dinner, me not once thinking about chewing each bite at least fifty times. I didn't realize this until I set the plate in the sink. I had to laugh. So quickly my mind became caught up in talking and laughing about our day. I'm okay with that. He's hinted several times at wanting to get a studio apartment for himself, so I'm trying to enjoy each and every moment I have with him.

In some ways, I think chewing each bite of food fifty times is way harder than going carfree. I'm not giving up yet, though. I'll give this challenge a chance because I want to see if it becomes a natural thing for me to do once I sit down to eat.