Take tiny bites. It seems like an excellent metaphor for a lot of things in life. Part of my building a healthier lifestyle encompasses eating smaller servings, mindfully eating instead of just stuffing food into my mouth. Small bites full of flavor are more (ful)filling than a giant but
less savory meal.
I remember the first time I had a genuinely fine-dining experience. I was shocked at the small size of the entree. More shocking was how satisfied I was after finishing my meal. I was fully satisfied, but I didn’t have that “post-Thanksgiving” feeling of lethargy and the regret that comes with realizing you’ve over-eaten.
The same thing happens when I bite off more than I can chew and try to accomplish more than I’m capable of or have the resources to complete. I used to think I didn’t have time to do so many things I wanted to do. Time is indeed a limited resource, but I was wasting more time worrying that there wasn’t enough time than I was eking out tiny spaces in my day to make things work.
Even though I knew better academically, I had this feeling I had to sit down and write a book or screenplay in gigantic bites. I’d let myself get sidelined by minutiae and tiny details and then stop my projects indefinitely, sometimes forever.
The result was, I didn’t finish anything. I have half a dozen or so screenplays 15-30 pages long. I have a novel I started in my mid-twenties that I’ve gone back and forth about a million times whether it would make a better novel or a movie (why not both?). When I wasn’t having that debate, I changed the name of the main character again and again.
While I haven’t solved this yet, I am training my mind to understand the joys of working slowly and deliberately, one step at a time. One haiku a day, one blog post to reflect on what I’m learning, one short guided yoga session followed by a guided meditation; I’m learning to appreciate small wins and fit all I want and need into my days.
I see the growth every passing day. I feel the by-product of increased self-confidence and a sense of peace. My body feels better, my spirit feels better, and I am learning to love the life I am living. Tiny, little, simply tasty bites; the secret to all that is good.
