In the February 20 post Engaging Your Senses, I recommended you try, as an exercise, to approach life with your senses more alert.  How have you done with this?  Did you consider what you can do or experience that engages each of the senses (touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing)?

For me,  it’s food;  food engages all the senses.

It’s the snap of a bean or the sizzle of bacon, the silkiness of flour, the aroma of garlic and onion sauteing in butter.  I love how food can evoke a memory and not always for its smell.  You might be transported back in time by the sight of a particular food or its taste, or, really, for any of the senses it awakens.  When I’m contemplating something, I ask, “What’s its yumminess factor?”  For me, everything, not just food, has a yumminess factor to consider.  Perhaps I see life through food.  After all, and I’ve said it before, food is what connects us.  We absolutely must have it to thrive, even just to survive, but beyond the necessity of it, food serves as a unifier.

You can travel to another country where the spoken language is other than your own and connect with someone over food, whether it’s something sold in an outdoor market, from a food cart, or from a fine dining or casual eatery.  And, the connection might happen without uttering a word.  Food can be the language.

If you’ve followed my blog or been to my restaurant The Farmhouse at Serenbe, you know I’m all about fresh food prepared simply to provide maximum nourishment for the body and soul.  One of my favorite restaurants anywhere is le Relais de l’Entrecôte in Paris, and it’s not because they have a lavish or extensive menu of delicacies.  They only serve steak-frites (or steak and chips [fries]) with a delectable sauce and accompanied by a house salad.  That’s it!  It’s simple, nourishing, and perfectly prepared every time!

Having dined there several times, I know I will see, smell, taste, touch, hear, and experience an amazing meal there.  Those who visit the restaurant for the first time, and probably by recommendation, probably only expect to taste something delicious, with little thought to the rest of the experience, but assuredly, once there, the senses awaken; the experience is fulfilling on so many levels.

I subscribe to a mindset that when we are fully aware of our senses, we are more open to the beauty and grace around us.  When you engage each sense, how does that enrich your life?