Comments on: The downside of my noble pastime, reading

By: Janet Bailey

Janet Bailey — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:39:23 +0000

@Michelle – “when you eat and read, eat and read” — ROFL, I think that will be my new motto! Can’t say the 3 days of attempted-mindful-eating led to any epiphanies, or even much savoring (except for that one pear), but it did make me aware, once again, of how I rush through things.

Happy to report, though, that the breathing-during-computer-download campaign is still going strong.

By: Michelle Russell

Michelle Russell — Wed, 06 May 2009 22:47:33 +0000

Oh, Janet–you must live in my brain! I’ve wrestled with this “problem” (not entirely convinced it is, which is why the quotes are there) all my life, ever since I read the backs of cereal boxes over breakfast because I wasn’t allowed to read books at the kitchen table.

I have *always* read while eating…well, when I’m alone, that is. Sometimes I’ve tried the whole mindful eating thing, but I get very uptight. I congratulate you on your three days–how did it go?

When I want to feel better about the whole issue, I remind myself of the story I read years ago about the Zen teacher D.T. Suzuki (I think I got the initials right) who was confronted by one of his students when he was discovered reading while eating. And I paraphrase:

Student: But teacher, you always tell us, “When you eat, eat. When you read, read.” How can you be doing this?

Suzuki: Simple. Just remember–when you eat and read, eat and read.

By: Janet Bailey

Janet Bailey — Mon, 04 May 2009 03:40:28 +0000

@Ulla – Ah, the old food-on-the-clothes wakeup call!

At Day 3, the single-tasking is still a struggle, but I did enjoy that pear this afternoon.

By: Ulla Hennig

Ulla Hennig — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:00:19 +0000

Janet,
I decided to stop reading-while-eating when I managed to get a spoonful of yoghurt placed very nicely on my jeans. I enjoy reading the newspaper from page 1 to the last page on the weekend, and eating a yoghurt was just something that had to go with it – till the moment when the yoghurt decided to miss my mouth and fell on my trousers. And then I noticed that I savoured it, concentrating on the flavour of fruit and yoghurt.