If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor Eleanor Roosevelt
I want my life to have flavor, vitality, enthusiasm. Not just the food that I eat but the life that I lead. I don’t want to be on auto pilot. I want to be engaged in whatever it is I am doing. Driving, petting my dog, listening to music, washing dishes. I don’t want to just be moving to the next task. I want to be aware. To feel and really be present with all my senses.
Let me not half slumber through this day. Let me be awake, alive and taste every moment. All the flavors, sweet, salty bitter. They all have their purpose. If nothing else for contrast. It is only with contrast that we see more clearly, we see better because of the differences not in spite of them.
Sooooo... the big question, how do I make sure my life has flavor? I think it is to be more active for one thing. Don't hesitate, don't always think or over think. Get out and be physical. Be IN my body. Walk, go different places. Eat at the table and pay attention to my food. Eat different food, not just the same old. Spend more time listening to music, try different genres. Read different books. Talk to people and really listen. In looking at this list the thing is to use my senses... Look, Listen, Touch, Taste, Smell... If I do those things and spend less time in my head and not numbing myself, it will give me a richer life. An inner life is important, but it cannot be at the expense of a full meaningful life.
One of my values is creativity and that includes curiosity. Try some new things or at the very least do the old things differently. I can do that. I can challenge myself. It is through these things: presence, challenge, curiosity, engagement, movement and my senses that I will find the zest I'm looking for.
