Hunger Is The Best Sauce

With the fall season upon us, my son and I usually do some camping.  Recently I was having a discussion with a friend about how food always tastes better when you’re camping.  Even simple food that I routinely eat at home, like instant oatmeal.  Somehow it tastes different when eating it in the car on route to the office versus on a cool morning outside my tent.  My friend said “hunger is the best sauce”.  It was a phrase I hadn't heard but it fit perfectly.  You appreciate something the more you’re aware of how much you need it.  On my recent hiking trip in Peru, I had to go four days camping with no water.  When I got back to the hotel, I took a long, hot shower and appreciated every minute of it.  (Anyone within smelling distance of me probably appreciated it even more).  Usually a daily shower is just routine, something that I hardly notice.

I think life is that way, right?  It’s like the country song, “Live like you’re dying”.  If we take the time to really notice and appreciate what is around us, we have a new sense of gratitude.  There is a lot of research about how having a sense of appreciation or gratitude can make us happier.  I know for myself, I sometimes get so wrapped up to the to-do list of the day that I lose all sense of appreciation of what I have in that instant.  There are small opportunities every day to remind me to be grateful for the moment.  The feel of a breeze on a hot day, the taste of the perfect cup of coffee, the smile of a child, a hug from a friend.  I’m going to try to make a conscious effort to slow down enough to catch those opportunities for contentment.  I think I might also make dinner time later at my house – maybe if “hunger is the best sauce” my little guy will complain less about what I've prepared if he’s a wee bit more hungry J.