Mid-week mindfulness this week is perhaps on the surface of it not so easy..silent eating!
🤐 This has come up now because earlier in the week I had a conversation with a friend explaining what the little brass bell we have in the corner of the kitchen is for, while 3 lively children ran about eating snatched mouthfuls in-between chair dancing and general chaos..and the explanation was met with bemusement..
🏫 My 4.5yr old has been going for 2 days a week to a lovely local pre-school in Brighton called The Dharma School. Founded on Buddhist principles, one of the practices they introduce the children to at lunchtime and snacktime is mindful eating, by ringing a bell and enjoying silent consuming. It actually works and the kids sit eating, with only the noise of munching and food unwrapping..
😌 For sure it helps that all the children do this together, but encouraged by the possibility we bought a small bell and at times ring it at home to eat with silent focus on our food! Amazingly it can work at home too (admittedly not every time), though it can go against what we think of as comfortable mealtimes because we think about sharing our experiences and talking together..which is also a lovely thing to do.
🔔 However, to try bring a focus onto food every now and then it’s worth a go especially to bring the pace down a notch..if you can find a small bell, sit down at the table, give it a ring and see how it feels to eat without talking!
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