Variety is the Spice of Life

While visiting my brother, Jeff, in Miami, he took me out to eat at Zuma.  Zuma offers Japanese inspired small plates meals, so that you can taste a variety of excellent food.  We ordered four plates. Each of the items that we ordered had a different taste and texture.  As we sat there savoring every bite (it was that good), it dawned on me how infrequently we take the time to savor the things that take place in our life.

Under the hustle and bustle of daily living, we get up, go to work (or school), come home, eat dinner, be involved in community activity (e.g., rec sports, religious, other), spend time with the kids, and spend time with our spouse.  On the weekends, work is replaced by family activities and spending some time with family and friends.  I know that there are people that promote taking the time each morning to meditate, so that you can ground yourself for the day.  However, during the day, it seems as if we are forever running from one thing to the next and do not really savor the little moments.  As golfer Ben Hogan put, “As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round.”

Maybe that is why we need to schedule downtime.  I am talking about an hour or two here and there.  I mean a couple of days now and then, to recharge our batteries and take a few days away from our daily routines to slow things down.  Having a short break does provide the chance to observe what goes on about us; take in different and sometimes new experiences, and sometimes doing something that we would not normally do.  I am not a beach person, but sometimes, it is nice to sit, listen to the waves and enjoy the world around us.  We are here on this earth for a short period of time; it is up to us to maximize our experiences while we are here.  As a friend recently pointed out, “Life is not a dress rehearsal.”