Savor, Mindful Eating, Mindful Life--Thich Nhat Hanh and Lillian Cheung

So, a Buddhist monk and a nutritionist decide to write a book together. . .

Doesn't that sound like the first line of a great joke? Unfortunately, (a) It's not (b) I can't come up with the punch line if it was, and (c) I'm supposed to be writing a review of the book they wrote, rather than creating punch lines for nonexistent jokes.

But if it were a joke, the Buddhist monk would lead the reader in mindfulness, with the reader dutifully slowing down while drinking, say, her nice tall glass of lemonade. She'd focus on the cool trickle of liquid down her throat, savoring the contrasting tartness and sweetness. Inside the flavor, she'd taste the fluffy white clouds that made the rain that produced the lemonade, and the earth in which the lemon tree grew, and the farmer who picked the lemon . . .

And the nutritionist would say, "Lemonade? Really? Because you know, there's an awful lot of sugar in that. Consumption of fruit juice contributes to diabetes, and, by the way, you could stand to lose a few pounds. You really shouldn't be drinking juice this late in the day at all. And what's that you were planning to savor with that lemonade--a sugar cookie?!"

And the Buddhist monk would say . . . [Insert punch line here]

But seriously, folks. There's a lot to be said for merging good nutrition with putting thought into what and how we eat. I'm just not sure the two perspectives were in harmony, in this case.

There is a lot to love about this book as an introduction to the Buddhist perspective, though. The breathing meditations for everything from reading email, to watching T.V., for example:

Breathing in, the remote control is in my hand
Breathing out, why am I watching television?

That cracks me up, but it's certainly a worthwhile question, and an honest answer could lead to some much-needed soul searching. My favorite is the traffic jam meditation:

Breathing in, I follow my in-breath
Breathing out, I follow my out-breath
Breathing in, I know everyone is trying to get somewhere
Breathing out, I wish everyone a peaceful, safe journey
Breathing in, I go back to the island of calm within myself
Breathing out, I feel refreshed.

I actually love this idea, and I'm going to try it next time I'm stuck in traffic. Unless my kids are in the car. I wouldn't want them to worry.

by Alison Jakel

Savor is on tour for the TLC Book Tours. The opinions expressed on Worducopia are my own and have not been approved or influenced by TLC Book Tours, the publisher, or the authors.