Mindfully Eating Chocolate

It’s nearly Valentine’s Day, the holiday symbolized by red hearts, flowers, love notes, and of course chocolate. This year, when your sweetheart gives you that beautiful box of treats, enjoy each piece mindfully – with full awareness. Imagine you have never had chocolate before and use all of your senses to savor the entire experience.

Start with your eyes by admiring the box – the size, graphics, and wording. All the clues about what you will find inside. The marketing department spent numerous hours and dollars on the box design, appreciate the presentation of this final product.
 
Touch the box with your hands and feel the texture of it and any ribbons or adornments. Open the box, remove the inner covering and gaze upon the rich delights. Notice the appearance of the goodies – shapes, colors, and patterns.
 
Bring the box to your nose, take a long whiff and savor the smell. Select a treat, remove any wrapping, and just like with the box admire the appearance, feel, and smell.
 
Take the dessert to your mouth and indulge in a small bite. Slowly roll it around your tongue and experience the consistency – crunchy, smooth, or creamy. Focus in on what you taste – sweet, sour, salty, or bitter. Notice the volume of the candy – light and airy or dense and heavy.
 
As you begin to chew feel your jaw muscles moving and notice the noise in your ears as your teeth come together. Finally, as you swallow be sensitive to the passing of the food down your throat. After you have eaten the last bite, pause and ask yourself if you really want more now or if you are satisfied and will save the rest for later.
 
How long can you make that box of chocolates last?