2006-07-04 3:46 PM

An Independent Feast for the Senses

To commemorate our country’s independence I decided that 1:00am was a good time to start cooking. I stood at the stove, thoughts fully divergent, tending the pot. I discovered that I cook with all five senses! Who would have thought that the last one would be taste?

I check what I’m cooking to see if it looks like what I imagined (visual).
I listen (auditory) for the water to boil and the timer to *ding*.
I check the consistency (kinesthetic) – is it done cooking?
Then I check the scents (olfactory) to decide what herbs and spices to add.
Only once I’ve done all those things do I actually taste (gustatory) my concoction in order to imagine what else might make it better.

The other thing that I noticed is that my reaction to a sight, sound – even a smell – is entirely independent of the event itself. There is nothing inherent in Sage that causes me to think of tea leaves. The sight of basil leaves will not remind everyone of fish food and the goldfish they had as a kid. There is no essence in Curry Powder that elicits mixed feelings of “yum” and “yuck”. These are all my own reactions to a neutral stimulus.

So whether you are in the US or not, today is a day to start
exercising your independence! Notice what you react to in less than resourceful ways. You may even decide that you can react differently to that tone of voice or “the look”. You never know what new responses you may get by changing your own behavior.

Embrace your senses and celebrate your independence!

Posted by Wayne Buckhanan No Comments »

Leave a Reply