Lessons from the Plant Life in Washington, DC

On the 1800 block of Corcoran St in Washington, DC there are rows of Ginkgo trees. In the fall the leaves turn a bright yellow, and in the late afternoon the angle of the sun is such that it shines on the leaves and turns them into a sea of glowing fans fluttering in the breeze. It is nature at its best. As the summer waned each year that I lived in DC I eagerly awaited the change of those leaves. I have not lived in Washington, DC for over 10 years and the sight of those leaves has stayed with me.

However, the real moment in which my path to savoring was awakened was one time when my then boyfriend and I were walking to meet friends at an appointed time for dinner. Punctuality has been very important to me. I knew the travel time to DuPont Circle and I had arranged for us to leave with just enough time to get to there. As we walked, my boyfriend stopped to smell the roses in someone’s yard. I was frustrated; we were going to be late because he was stopping to smell flowers. Flowers which, by the way, he had just smelled the day before. The smell had not changed since then, and now he was wasting our time! So there I was getting upset that my boyfriend was literally stopping to smell the flowers. That is when I realized that I had been going about living wrongly.

Savoring is the act of fully taking in the stimuli around us. It involves stepping out of the immediate action and imbibing in the environment. Savoring has been shown to increase the positive feelings, gratitude, hopefulness, and self-confidence one experiences. It is also associated with less depression, anxiety, shame, and guilt. It is also simply fun.

Each of us savors in our own way. We can use our 5 basic senses or respond to our kinesthetic sense—the stimuli of our own body’s position and movement. We can also savor directly and indirectly. We can take in the experience of another by seeing or hearing about it and becoming absorbed in that. We can bask in our own or another’s accomplishments. One can also savor the past through reminiscing and in the future through optimism. People who engage in joyful anticipation tend to experience more intense emotions and those that reminisce tend to handle stress better.

One the things that I savor most is watching modern dance. I savor watching how the dancers move their bodies and the emotions and ideas they communicate. I marvel in their ability to communicate deep experiences purely physically; I find it enthralling. But my primary pathway to savoring is touch. I relish the sensation of textures against my skin. I once went to Glick’s (a textiles warehouse) and spent an hour just feeling the fabrics—I left there feeling renwed. It was as if all of my worries just filtered out as the stimuli aroused my finger tips. My current boyfriend savors flavors. He loves trying to figure out the elements of the flavor and how the different seasonings interact with each other. Savoring can be simple, but it can also be thrilling.

Have you ever had a simple sensory experience that absorbed you? Which sensory system or systems were involved? Those are probably your primary savoring paths. Take some time to deliberately delight in stimuli related to those senses. For example, if sound is your primary sensory pathway, then listen to beautiful music or the sounds or children or nature or you can savor indirectly by listening to joyous interactions of others. You also do not have to limit yourself to your primary sensory systems. All of us are capable to savoring through all 6 sensory systems. Dancing or being athletic can be savoring moments that operate on the kinesthetic sense. Perhaps sitting down with pictures from a special time in your life can rekindle joyous moments or planning your next vacation can awaken your bliss within. Whatever works for you, try stopping for a few moments each week and savor your experiences.