©2022 Alicia Dara
Recently I was sitting in a quiet corner of the airport, waiting for my flight to start boarding. Across from me in a nearby chair I saw a woman lower her face mask and slip something in her mouth. She replaced the mask and started chewing slowly. Her eyes were closed, and although her face had been tense, it began to relax. Her shoulders stopped hunching, and she relaxed back in her chair. She chewed and chewed, and I could see her cheeks flush underneath the fabric of her mask. Finally she swallowed, and a small smile crinkled the corners of her eyes. She looked completely serene, as if everything was right in her world.
Suddenly her eyes popped open, and she caught me staring. I looked away, but she laughed and introduced herself. Her name was Amy*, and when I asked her what she’d just been eating that made her look so radiant, she told me this story:
Amy grew up on a farm in rural Idaho. She came from a large family, with 6 brothers and sisters. Everyone on the farm worked hard, including the kids, who did chores and tended the animals before and after school. Despite the family’s efforts, there was never much money to go around. Yet Amy’s mother didn’t want her kids to feel deprived, so she always tried to find them a weekly treat that they could enjoy. She baked them scones from a family recipe, sweetening them with cinnamon when there was no sugar. She made sweet corn pudding with fresh creamy cow’s milk, and grew sugar snap peas in the garden, which she doled out like candy after the kids were done with their chores. But of all the treats that her mother gave them, their absolute favorite was chocolate. It was hard to come by, because even if there was enough extra cash to buy some, the only place in their county that sold chocolate bars (the gas station) often ran out of them.
When Amy’s mother was able to get a chocolate bar, she had to be strategic about dividing it fairly among the kids, so she would cut it into 6 equal pieces on the kitchen table and let them choose which one they wanted. Most of the kids snatched up their piece and devoured it right there in the kitchen, but Amy had a different method. She would take her piece to her room, sit down on her bed, and stare at it for a while, noticing its melty edges and rich dark center. She’d bring it up to her face and take a deep sniff of its sweetness, feeling happiness flow through her nose.
Finally Amy would place the candy on her tongue, and that’s when she’d enter what she called, The Realm of Pure Chocolate. She would stop time in her mouth, so that as she chewed the incredible flavor seemed to go on forever, a wave of chocolate rushing through her being, sweetening everything inside and out. The experience was so intense that she often had to lie down for a nap afterward! She still eats chocolate bars that way, one small but mighty square at a time, letting it work its sweet magic on her soul… and that’s what she’d been doing in the airport.
Amy’s focus and passion may seem extreme, but it points to something important: the concept of savoring. Her Realm of Chocolate is actually a powerful brain state, an intense mindfulness that allows an immersive escape into her senses before she returns to the present moment, feeling refreshed and renewed.
Savoring is a Power Skill, and I often encourage my clients to apply it during small moments at work. Savoring doesn’t have to be limited to food: listening to a favorite song, mid-day nature walks around the block, even looking at fun photos of your loved ones are all experiences that can be savored. Anything pleasurable that allows you to immerse yourself in your senses will promote the positive effects of the experience. Use your eyes, nose, mouth and imagination to make it happen. When you arrive on the other side, you can focus more effectively on what’s next in your busy work day.
Want to learn more Power Skills for your career? My next “Power Voice for Career Women”, a 90-minute Zoom training, is coming up on June 16th. Use the code POWERWOMAN for $25 off the ticket price at THIS LINK. Looking forward to working with you!
*Name and some details changed for privacy