March is a month of celebration for me.

It’s my birthday month.

And it’s also Labyrinth Healing’s birthday month.

So, I always look forward to enjoying some extra sweets in March, what with all the birthdays.

And I do believe I’ve had a bit of a landmark moment this month.

I think I encountered the best cake I’ve ever eaten.

The best cake

You’re no doubt wondering about the recipe for this most delicious cake, but it’s not in any cookbook.

In fact, the cake isn’t even the main ingredient.

I mean, don’t get me wrong.

It’s a nice enough cake—good vanilla frosting, not too sweet, and decorated with some nice flowers.

But the cake is the backdrop.

My enjoyment is linked to something more important.

This is where it gets a bit confusing.

How can you make an extraordinary cake experience out of an ordinary sort of cake?

By eating it mindfully!

The magic of mindfulness

I am reading Thich Nhat Hahn’s book Peace is Every Step and now I can’t stop thinking about mindfulness.

(If you’re curious about mindfulness and want a gentle introduction to the concept, I highly recommend that book.)

My basic understanding of mindfulness distills down to two things:  attention and appreciation.

In order to be mindful, you have to corral your mind gently from ruminating about the past or worrying about the future.

You must learn to occupy the present moment,

to attend to and observe what is going on in your body and mind, without judgment.

And whatever comes up in the present moment, you just appreciate it.

You observe it with kindness and compassion, and then let it go.

Sounds simple, but it can be a challenging practice!

So, how do we apply this to cake?

Or eating any kind of thing?

1.)  Go slow.

2.)  Engage your senses.

3.)  Clear your mind of other concerns.

4.)  Eat.

If you google “mindful eating” you’ll actually find loads of more in depth examples and how-to’s on mindful eating.

Waiting and rushing

This topic of mindful eating and appreciation has bloomed into a bigger question for me—maybe it will resonate with you, too.

It’s the idea that we spend much of our time alternating between rushing and waiting.

We can hurry through tasks and errands with so much quickness and ferocity that we can barely catch up to ourselves at the day’s end.

And also:  we can spend so much time waiting.  Waiting on something.

Waiting for Friday.

Waiting for that right relationship or job.

Waiting for the right year to do that thing we say we’re gonna do.

We focus so much on what’s coming up that we aren’t aware of what is going on right now!—right under our noses.

Too much waiting & planning traps us.  It keeps us in a holding pattern.

Why wait?  Why rush?

Why not gently tune in to what is happening right now?

So don’t wait for Friday.

Grab that handful of unexpected, leftover Wednesday afternoon time.

Seek the benefits in your current relationship or job, the ones you’ve perhaps overlooked.

Allow yourself to occupy this singular moment in time.

Slow down.

Notice what is there.

Lessons learned

I’ve never had such a delicious, cake-y lesson before.

I plan to finish off that delicious lesson with one last, mindful slice of cake this evening.

I invite you to turn to your plates, your schedules, your commutes and your loved ones with this bright new possibility.

Let ordinary things be new and soothing and interesting again.

Be mindful, and watch what happens next.