wyethross

in my freetime, i used to frequent fastfood shops and restaurants around baguio, or with friends during weekends; i still do, but not as frequent as i used to do mainly because of time constraints. it really never occured to me to take shots of the things i eat and drink; recently, however, by some visual twist, i started getting up close and personal with my food. i thought if i can take some good close-up shots of plants and animals and insects, i could probably do the same with food...

so i tried... i initially encountered some problem with low lighting conditions, or too strong a lighting, took some fiddling with the white balance and exposure (shutter speed, aperture)... and finally got things fairly right... then i tried some more... and more, aware that other diners are most likely wondering what this crazy fellow is doing with his food rather than digging right in...

the effect is two-fold, at least for the present: i got to relish the texture and colour of food even more, and i got to slow down a bit when eating (partly because i have to search for a good angle to take shots from)... see, i usually walk a bit faster than most people on the streets, i usually talk a bit faster, eat a bit faster. everyone knows what doing things faster would result in. particularly when eating, faster almost always means bad digestion and inefficient assimilation of nutrients...

so, taking time to appreciate the texture and colour of your food at mealtimes would help slow you down... at least, you should take time to try and put together the senses called for dining: eyes to see the colour and infer some textural connotations; nose to detect the nuances of the aroma; and lips mouth and tongue to define the texture and consistency.

which brings us to the subject of mindful eating (call it meditative dining, if you will). perhaps some of us remember our childhood when our parents told us thesame thing. istrongly believe now that this is not just because they were strict. i suppose an explanation for this is rooted in a practice of several religious or spiritual groups, both ancient and modern, recommending eating in silence - this was a form of meditation (or prayer for some of us). being aware of all the sensation going on inside our mouths, throats and noses is getting in touch with the essence of food. if some of you would read this, you might also have come across other writings relating food, eating, and meditation. this is a beautiful subject to explore, especially in our fast-paced lifestyle. some of you might also recall a reader's digest article about someone eating what he wants fully and heartily, rather than 'artificially' choosing things to eat as in a diet, and feeling so guilty about it when one eats the 'forbidden' food by 'accident'...

scientifically, the body can and will dispose of unneeded stuff - unless overstuffed, of course. as they say in computer programming: garbage in, garbage out. i only wish that more and more people would slowly relearn how to eat - and appreciate the food as they eat... to fully engage the mind while eating instead of yapping and thinking negative thoughts and feelings...

i know that most of us know what we should and should not eat, but i trust that we can all try to be more concsious of how we eat.

happy dining!