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I LOVE wine tasting. It’s probably what I miss most about living in California and Washington. Sadly, there are no vineyards in South Florida. I love the ritual of going from vineyard to vineyard and tasting wines, meeting the owners, talking to them about their business. My favorite tasting rooms always have some crackers and/or cheese to nibble on. Yes, you probably know that I do love cheese… and this adds to the whole experience. But, the cheese and crackers add an important element to the wine tasting experience. Their purpose is not to fill patrons’ bellies. Their purpose is to cleanse the palate. The cheese and crackers serve to give your tastebuds a rest, a break, between wines. This is so that you can fully experience and taste each wine independently. I love all of this wine tasting ritual!
What if we applied this process of cleansing the palate to our work and personal life? What if we implemented something in our day to introduce a break between our work time and our personal time? What if we had a habit of doing ________ to signal the end of our work day and the beginning of our personal time, our family time, our relaxation time?
When I had a studio outside of my home, this “cleansing ritual” was as simple as my drive home. The 20 minute drive allowed my mind to wander into all sorts of different places. Once I got home… voila! New perspective! However, these days, with my office now in my home, I don’t have a ritual of doing something to completely BREAK myself from my work day. This is the peril of a) having an office in your home, and b) having technology only a few fingertips away.
But, I’ve been giving great thought to this lately. I am going to find something I enjoy doing… and do it every day for 15 minutes between my work day and my personal time. This can be as simple as reading a gossip magazine lazily on my sofa, going for a walk around the block, or sitting in my backyard. I’m going to work on cleansing my proverbial “palate” every day… so that I can truly enjoy the time I spend in the evening with my family.
How about you? What are you going to do to cleanse your “palate”?
by Michelle Loretta
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