What is a Life Well Savored?
Savor takes one of my favorite words, indulgence, and strips it of its baggage. Savor is defined as: “to taste and enjoy something completely, especially by dwelling on it. To give flavor to. To have an experience of. To taste or smell with pleasure. To delight in.” To savor is to find the simple pleasures in the day to day and expand them into more than ordinary moments, which in turn creates an extraordinary life. Drink down every last drop. Let the sweetness fill you from head to toe and linger on your lips.
I’m nearly a textbook Taurus. If you know anything about astrology, you’ve probably guessed that this word makes me smile. I love all earthly pleasures…good food, drink, sex, money, beautiful things, comfortable surroundings, time in nature. I wake up in the morning for 4 things: love, beauty, wisdom and magic; not necessarily in that order. I live to laugh and make memories with those I hold dear. My spirit swoons over music. My soul surges when in nature. I’m compelled in the best possible way to seek out liminal places. For me, these things make life worth living. I remember a time when I felt disconnected, at a crossroads, lost and wandering. I was tangled and unaware of how far I’d strayed or even how much the savoring of these things enriched the quality of my life.
As I get older, I’m less driven by facts and figures and proof. I’m far more excited by aliveness and enchantment and wonder. I’m no longer that workaholic squeezing life in around meetings, thinking satisfaction was only to be found with the next promotion or at the end of my to-do list. (Which has been a life saver because, you’ve probably noticed, there is no end to the to-do list.) Turns out the secret to my happiness can be summed up in one word, two letters: Be. It’s hard to believe that my busy mind relented, but it did. I’m completely enchanted by the gifts of absolute presence and lingering in the bliss of it. It feels like magic.
Given my poetic ramblings, you might think that my life is an unending vacation. Not so much. Don’t get me wrong. I have a good time, but…I’m not immune to pain and loss and stress. I’ve not transcended deadlines, calendars or the pressure to “get it done.” My mind still races with information and thought. And honestly, I still find great pleasure in career wins and checking things off my to do list.
To savor life isn’t about avoiding all stress. The goal isn’t to cut ourselves off from the world, no matter how romantic that might sound at times. It’s quite the opposite. The goal is to feel empowered enough to create a life worth savoring. To do that, we need to be very much in and of the world.
My life has become an expression of the art of savoring. I’m not interested in just more connection. I’m cultivating better quality connection. I’m not looking to simply let more of life in. I’m inviting the best of life to come and stay awhile. Slowing down, tapping into something bigger than me, exploring traditional practices, creating spaciousness in my inner and outer worlds…brewing the perfect cup of tea…these things teach me to connect with myself and savor the who, where and what of me right here, right now. This creates a timelessness that adds so much life to my world that it’s hard to put into words.
I may not be able to add more time to my life, but I can get more life out of whatever time I have. This is what I wish for me…and for you. May we live our lives so completely that when it’s time to go, we slide across the finish line having experienced, given and received all that we desired and more than we could’ve ever asked for. May we live a life to be savored.