lessons learned - chew your food slowly

All right, I re-adopted the "lessons learned" title for this post. It is a lesson, and I am learning it. Now that I am nearly devoid of saliva, swallowing is always a bit of a challenge. If I do not pay attention to what I am doing when I eat, I invariably am startled into the realization that this bit of food that is currently lodged in my throat is not going down as it was meant to. Thus far, I have been able to quickly drink some water and resolve the situation without embarrassing myself, or worse.

Today, I had a ghoulish image of spending the last few moments of my life vainly attempting to perform the Heimlich maneuver on myself on the back of our dining room chair, while the little TV in the kitchen was spouting out the news of the day (the five thousandth story I've heard on the impact of the oil spill) and keeping me company while my wife was gone. Would I hear the voice of my dear deceased mother saying "I told you a hundred times to chew your food slowly!"...or would I have the thought..."this serves me right for watching TV while I was eating...I'm such an idiot!" or would I be thinking..."maybe I should use the upholstered chair, this wood chair is killing me..." or maybe my last thoughts would be..."I shoulda picked up some won-ton soup to go with the sesame chicken..."

Anyway...the lesson here...is to pay attention to what I am doing. Doing that when I eat may become life or death for me. But when I am talking to my friend, my wife, my client, PAY ATTENTION.... when I am watching the Robin feed the baby Robin in the nest just outside our window... PAY ATTENTION... when I am reading a difficult poem, or a passage of Scripture, or when I am in prayer, or washing the dishes... PAY ATTENTION.

Steven...PAY ATTENTION...your life is in this moment...and please, for Heaven's sake, chew with your mouth shut!