Written February 4, 2021
Sit, Sip, and Savor
Sit(v): remain
When you think of this verb do you feel action, movement, flight, noise?
To me, I think of quiet, calm, and in observance of what is surrounding me. My center pulled to the ground.
Sip(v): absorb, drink in
When you think of this verb do you envision gulping, chugging, dousing?
For me, I think of small amounts, just enough to release the experience, allowing each layer to expose itself.
Savor(v): Breathe in, appreciate, care for.
When you think of this verb do you imagine haste, speed, drive, tasks?
For me, it instigates a richness, an experience to absorb, slow with, pause to allow a lingering depth, adding to the quality of life.
This would matter to my son so I will share it, I referenced the etymology roots in each definition.
Yesterday a feeling came up for me which drove the I’m-not-enough-train which had been solidly parked for sometime. Perhaps something in my day provided the trigger, illuminating an old pattern or perhaps my inner child was solely seeking a hug. It would have been easy to point a finger toward a person, a situation, really anything other than the source, me. I’ve journeyed enough to recognize this coping strategy, to point outside of me. When used it creates an illusion of processing, it lacks accountability and it no longer serves what I desire - to face my shit. I knew I desired to turn inward and be exactly with myself where I was yesterday. I knew it was going to bring up feelings I had shelved long ago. Like a good wine, absorbing flavors from its barrel, perhaps changing over time in complexity, nonetheless, present and now asking to be uncorked, ready to breathe and consumed.
I much preferred to chat with a friend, giggle with my Littles, organize a drawer, or even finish putting away gear from our weekend adventure. Yet I knew the feelings bubbling up, triggered by circumstance, were begging for acknowledgement, a nurturing, they were asking to be seen, and fully. I now see these moments as gifts, an opportunity to sit, savor, and sip on that good wine, a window into my soul, asking for companionship. Just as I do with my children, I prioritize to the best of my ability, when my inner child approaches, asking to be held.
An agenda wouldn’t work, emotions held in my neurological pathways are their own beast, I can greet them at the door but they enter on their own accord. Like an old dear friend in distress, I look into her eyes and say, “I’m here”.
I miss moments with friends.
I miss hugging.
I miss gathering.
I miss filling my adventure calendar out to 2022.
I miss flying.
I miss my kids when they are with their Dad.
I miss dinner with ambiance after sunset.
I miss...
It has gone on for longer than expected. The missing...
In 2021 I set an intention to sit, sip and savor, metaphorically, the experiences I desire.
I use my 5 senses like a checklist. Taste it, smell it, feel it, hear it, see it. The more detail the better. Thank you Coach Player for the visualization training on my high school XC team. (It was the “V” in the triangle, that blog will come soon, about the Mead Track/XC triangle.)
I once had a person say to me after I asked her if she would like a chair for the beach, “I don’t sit!” She values productivity and getting tasks done. We all value different things. I value sitting, sipping, and savoring me, those in my heart and life. I sit.
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