"At some point it dawned on me that I didn't know what food tasted like anymore. My senses were dulled by the obsessive amounts of spice I increasingly required. Apples no longer tasted good. Bananas were bland. Steak lost all the mineral tang that makes it so unique."
I often find myself so focused on intensity that I miss the beauty in simplicity. Right then and there, I decided to take a break from spicy food, going on hiatus for at least a week. Maybe a month.
Palette reset. Check.
"It was 6:25 am on a Tuesday when it smacked me in the face. Literally. I had just finished cutting up a mango for my daughter's breakfast and stabbed a chunk with my fork, making sure it was ripe and would be how she enjoyed it. That first bite was like an explosion in my mouth. Could it be that this was the best mango I had ever had? Doubtful.
Next, I grabbed a strawberry popsicle out of the freezer. An all-fruit one with real sugar of the organic kind. Tearing off the wrapper, I bit off a chunk, chewed it once, and pressed the icy slush against the roof of my mouth. Bolts of flavor shot down the sides of my mouth. I closed my eyes and shook my head. Damn! Where has this been my whole life? My mouth was dancing with delight.”
In the pursuit of 'more' - more excitement, more achievement, more stimulation - the risk of losing touch with the nuances and subtleties of life is poignant.
Perhaps the key lies not in constant intensity, but in finding that sweet spot where we can appreciate both the bold and the subtle, the fiery and the mildly sweet.
And it leaves me wondering: where else in life do I need a palate cleanse?
Exploring where less is sometimes more…
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