Oct 25th, 2025 Saturday Rainy
Fall is my favorite time of the year. As leaves are turning color, the air has been relieved of the summer heat and moist, the blue sky smiles with the golden sunshine, I feel a strong urge to go out and enjoy the nature.
Last weekend, my husband and I had a weekend getaway. Nothing fancy – just a visit to state parks, kayaking on the river, exploring unfamiliar towns and new spots, and getting good sleep. Without the need for extensive preparation, we took advantage of the relaxed schedule to unwind. It was wonderful.
On this trip, we ate at a few restaurants – all decent, though none blew my mind. Nevertheless, we dined at a leisurely pace, had lively conversations, felt fully (literally and figuratively) recharged after the meal.
At a French creperie, while my Monte Cristo crepe was being served, I noted how much more pleasant it is to eat during traveling. It feels as if a meal on the road restores more hit points than a meal at home/in the office.
Why is that?
Is it that I do not have to worry about cooking? But we also order takeout every now and then, yet it does not feel the same. Or is it the novelty of the environments? But honestly, some diners we ate at really do not have commendable interiors. Or are the dishes themselves more interesting? Not always – we often go for comfort food and home-style cuisine.
Then it dawned on me – we only eat while outside. In other words, we devote ourselves to the delicacy in front of us, and commit our whole bodies – mind and soul – to the task of consuming it.
In contrast, I am a little ashamed to admit that, dinnertime in our own dining room is rarely only eating. Sometimes we have an agenda to discuss (e.g. trip/party planning) as if it were a business lunch, with goals to achieve and decisions to make. Sometimes we are distracted with all sorts of electronic devices, scrolling down the screen for news update or daily quiz games. Even when I am by myself, I tend to find an article to read or a video to watch, that my attention is hardly on the food.
Dazhu Huihai, a famous Zen master, once asked by a monk, ‘how do you strive for enlightenment lately?’
He answered, ‘I eat when hungry, and sleep when tired.’
The monk was puzzled, ‘isn’t that what everyone does? How is it different?’
He replied, ‘regular people do not eat while eating, and do not sleep while sleeping. That is where the difference lies.’
Frankly, it is not that we are SO BUSY that we cannot afford to allocate the time to focus on the current moment. We tend to behave out of habit. And the familiar surroundings – places we routinely eat in – serve as cues for those habits. Such cues are fortunately absent while we are sojourning.
Perhaps, if we manage to break such habits and truly eat while eating, we can even derive some of the same benefits of vacationing without exiting our front door.