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How is it that we can barely taste something we absolutely love eating?

You've eaten it before. You know it’s delicious. Yet, you've just caught yourself realizing that you let the whole experience pass you by.

And it's hardly the first time.

Then there are those other moments. A perfectly ripe peach you bite into straight from the tree. That cup of warm deliciousness nestled between your hands on a cold morning, in anticipation of the first sip. Or someone inviting you to guess the spices in a dish they've prepared.

Ahh… those moments leave an impression, don't they?

Think about all that goes into experiencing flavor. Even before food reaches your mouth, there's the sight of it, its fragrance, the anticipation. Your mouth begins to water. Your body is already participating!

But what happens when your attention is elsewhere?

The food reaches your tongue. You chew, you swallow. But do you really taste it? Did you notice its texture, its temperature? Before you know it, you're reaching for the next bite, and the next, and the one after that.

And then you realize you've eaten something you love, but you're not satisfied. And now it's all gone.

Rasa — The Essence of Taste

The ancient wisdom of Ayurveda has a beautiful word that lives very close to this experience — Rasa.

Taste. Juice. Essence.

In Ayurveda, rasa is intimately connected with nourishment, with what sustains life.

Isn't it amazing how much a single word can hold?

And yet, all the attention we give to what we eat doesn't stand a chance if we're absent from the experience of eating.

What Happens When You Give Something Your Attention?

Here's a little experiment. You can try it right now.

Notice where your tongue is resting. Is it pressing against the roof of your mouth? Holding somewhere else? Or simply resting?

See if it can soften.

Notice what happens. Maybe a little more saliva gathers. Maybe your breath changes. Maybe nothing changes at all.

There.

Now, when you sit down for your next meal, take that same curiosity with you. Eating is only one of the countless ways we come into contact with life.

There's so much arriving through our senses every day: sounds, images, temperatures, textures, tastes, smells. And then there are our conversations, the people we encounter, the changing conditions within our own bodies.

Think about a tree you've walked past a hundred times. Then one morning, something catches your attention. Maybe the light is different. Maybe the leaves have begun to change.

You stop. And suddenly, you really see it.

The tree hasn't necessarily changed. But something about your experience has.

I wonder how much of what nourishes us is already present in our lives, waiting to be noticed.

Living Relationship

Life is coming into contact with us all the time. Every breath, every sensation, every encounter is part of that ongoing exchange.

And the more attention we give to what we are relating with, the more fully we can participate in it.

This to me feels near our sense of aliveness.

What does it mean to really taste something? To taste a moment, a conversation, something beautiful, something difficult?

Begin by tasting your next bite.

Discover its rasa.