Student, 18 years

I am not much of a meditator. I find that closing my eyes for a long period of time makes me drowsy and is a little painful. However, one Thursday I decided to close my eyes and take another go at it. This meditation session involved candy (probably a big reason why I finally decided to meditate). Anyway, I was given a packet of M&M peanuts which is, by the way, my favorite chocolate candy. Amy told us to close our eyes and feel the candy, smell the candy and, finally, put the candy in our mouths. When I got to last stage of the meditation I began to notice some things I had never noticed when eating a pack of M&M peanuts.

For one, the candy was very hard and crunchy and as I rolled the candy on my tongue I realized that the candy’s shell was cutting me. Yes, it was that sharp! In addition, I had become a little nauseous by the amount of chocolate in the middle. It was weird. Whenever I eat M&M’s, or any kind of candy for that matter, I am used to just eating. Not tasting; just eating. For that reason, I had never noticed the amount of chocolate that was actually in the M&M’s or how hard the candy shell was. It made me realize that I should probably take the time to actually feel, smell, and taste my food for the ultimate experience.

To be honest, that particular mediation session made me a tad bit sad. Just a tad! Sad because I realized I had been going through life just eating. Granted, I would taste my food when I ate, but I would never be satisfied in the end. Now when I eat, I find that I enjoy my food and can go a long time without a “midday snack” which, in all honesty, is usually a big bag of food! But, that’s beside the point. Meditation has made my eating experience a more enjoyable one and for that I am grateful.