I miss lots of happiness, of beauty because I fail or neglect to savour events, actions or encounters.
In the evening, when there is nothing left to take care of, I often think of something new I could do now. But then I tell myself, stop, wasn’t the day full enough yet? I’d rather take the time to review, savour, evaluate this whole, big, unique day once more.
However, I hardly ever manage to do so.
Doesn’t that not only concern the day but also the different events within that day? Isn’t one event followed immediately by the next one without a break in between, often rushing from one to the next one, appointment after appointment?

Don’t we lose a lot when not taking the time to savour and let the events sink in or when taking the time too late when most of what happened is already forgotten or a distorted memory?

Our personal experiences are complex. When they seem to have ended, it might by only an unimportant part that is over. The person you were talking to left but the conversation or the encounter is not yet concluded. The movie is over, everybody is leaving the cinema but many impressions from the movie want to be evaluated, want to sink in emotionally. The meal is over, everybody is full and goes back to work. But where is the gratitude for the food, the cook, doesn’t a bit of the joy at the delicious taste remain?

The evil shows off, draws attention to itself, doesn’t want to be ignored. Lingers on loudly by itself. The good is modest. We often only realize it when savouring.

Personal experiences have their own duration not necessarily corresponding to the scheduled time. One might have to leave a party too early or it can take too long. In our time that can be measured and thus planned we are rather at risk to break off the events because the next one is approaching than to savour them. It scares me when I imagine that a large part of my life consists of interrupted or unfinished events. There must be so much I missed!

(The debriefing in a professional setting, after a conference, negotiations, a show etc., does not take place for the most part or is just carried out briefly and mainly refers to the set goals or possible conflicts.)

“To savour events and not to turn too quickly to the next event” means to ask yourself whether or not you are ready for a conclusion and the time has come for the next event or rather another step would be good, to resume the conversation, to give yourself more time to say goodbye, to sum up what you heard in written form, to look at the gardening as a whole…

“To savour events and not to turn too quickly to the next event” also implies an evaluation from five different points of view.
Last night we went to a concert in a rush, Friday at 7 p.m., scheduled a little early. A foreign chamber choir sang psalm motets from different centuries, complemented by a flute quartet.
I’m not an expert in music but I didn’t like it very much. I was especially bothered by the combination of sacred songs and secular flute pieces.
Additionally, there were only about 20 people in the audience, the choir was double the number and the church was way to small for its volume.
Back at home around 9 p.m., I was about to start reading when I remembered to rather savour this concert a little more:
Bach’s “Praise the lord…” really impressed me. The feministic representation of psalm 23 was beyond my world view!
Despite the rather embarrassing situation due to the small attendance, it was not reflected in the musical performance.
Friendly words when welcoming and saying goodbye to the choir built bridges.
In retrospect, I was glad that we had taken part although we had been short in time.
It had been a decent evening. Does it always have to be more? Does everything always have to be great?
If we hadn’t gone there, there would have been almost only “officials”. Like this, we had at least given some encouragement as two of the few external guests.

To savour can thus mean to ask yourself some evaluation questions:

To savour like a kiss?
The evaluation questions run the risk of being used quite mechanically and being “worked through”. You wouldn’t savour a kiss like this!
To savour is more about “letting” the events sink in, about “leaving room for” the images, feelings, questions, evaluations of the experience that are still there. Letting all this sink in till it becomes silent.
The evaluation questions can help in this process or, if the experience became “silent” and calm, help reworking, cause the final “polish”.

To savour includes two problems I don’t want to hide from you:
You must not mistake it for a bad brooding over things you are stuck with and don’t get out of your mind. That is not what I am talking about.
I cannot savour everything either, not every sentence in a conversation, not every hammer blow, though it would be worth it sometimes.

Living life as art implies the habit to savour the day at the end of it and to give special events and encounters time to sink in during the day or at night and to basically plan your time in a way that each event gets sufficient inner time including the final question whether or not I’m at peace with myself to turn to the next one.

What can be additional fruits of this savouring?
Calmness as nothing accumulates.
Gratefulness as there is nothing that doesn’t show at least a little trace of receiving a present.
Marvelling at the miracle that is life.

Livinglifeasart Exercise:

“To savour! To savour after singing, after praying, after the lection – and in addition a whole hour of active silence together – inner calmness…I will ask myself more often at home what else needs to be savoured more by me!”
Participant of a week of reflection in a convent

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