Comments on: S l o w d o w n http://theviewfromtheground.com/2007/03/s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n/ Just Another MindGymnazium Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:01:51 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: amenon http://theviewfromtheground.com/2007/03/s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n/#comment-2122 amenon Sat, 24 Mar 2007 02:00:24 +0000 http://theviewfromtheground.com/2007/03/s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n/#comment-2122 thanks vasanthi and good to have you here after a spell. i imagine that we all have our experiences and memories of a slower time, where even the 'average hurry quotient' was lower... so when cars moved slower because thats all they were capable of - forcing you to enjoy the landscape! :o) more personally, i have my memories of my grandfather at meals - invariably leisurely affairs, with a lot of loud sounds during and after the event. perhaps not so coincidentally, happened to have a slow-wining evening some weeks ago - was great fun during the process.... and the next day!! ;o) thanks vasanthi and good to have you here after a spell. i imagine that we all have our experiences and memories of a slower time, where even the ‘average hurry quotient’ was lower… so when cars moved slower because thats all they were capable of - forcing you to enjoy the landscape! :o)

more personally, i have my memories of my grandfather at meals - invariably leisurely affairs, with a lot of loud sounds during and after the event. perhaps not so coincidentally, happened to have a slow-wining evening some weeks ago - was great fun during the process…. and the next day!! ;o)

]]> By: Vasanthi http://theviewfromtheground.com/2007/03/s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n/#comment-1753 Vasanthi Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:41:53 +0000 http://theviewfromtheground.com/2007/03/s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n/#comment-1753 I had a friend in Canada who was of Irish origins and she was married to an Italian. At her wedding... she told me... they had a 5 course meal much to the suprise of her relatives and friends who by now were totally into eating one meal super fast. So when the 1st course arrived... which was a thin pizza & thatis actually used as appetizer in Italy... her relatives looked a bit astonished at the menu and gobbled it up! My friend's husband's (by now) family could not understand this rush becoz they were eating slowly, in small portions, making conversations & getting to know one another along with sips of wine. Then the next course arrived which was soup and handmade rosemary-spelt bread with churned sweet butter or garlic butter plus a small plate of salald.... my friend's family had eaten so fast, they could not do justice to the fantastic soup let alone the aromatic bread. They grew so sleepy that they were getting lost in conversations and basically feeling directionless... while... her husband's family was slowly growing into the mood of the evening and singing, sharing of events from one another's life began to make the evening very interesting. Then came the next course of fish, then the course of white meat with veges and lastly the desert. All in all the wedding meal lasted for about 4 hours or so and was truely an occassion where everyone enjoyed the carefully cooked meal, the guests, the decor and the grace of the servers.... except for my friend's family who kept cursing their luck and by now learnt the new art of eating - SLOWLY & WITH ATTENTION - from this wedding event!!!! To date, my friend follows this method (even if not a 4 hour meal, she has an hour or so time for dinner) and it has helped her much in bringing up her 3 kids becoz almost all crisis situations regarding their lives are solved while eating and disscussing enjoying. On sunday's she says, everyone in her household looks forward to breakfast becoz inevitably it lasts for a longtime and so many topics are talked. So, Slow eating was always there in many cultures... we have forgotten it as part of our urbanization & run for the mollah. Infact Ayurveda asks us to eat slowly so as to help the digestive system and also for the brain to get the time to send the signal when food is enuf! :) Some of my best childhood memories are of my house servant sitting down to eat his afternoon meal. He ate slowly, carefully and spent a good ammount of time chewing. The joy he had at eating was a sight that made me respect food even more.:) I had a friend in Canada who was of Irish origins and she was married to an Italian. At her wedding… she told me… they had a 5 course meal much to the suprise of her relatives and friends who by now were totally into eating one meal super fast. So when the 1st course arrived… which was a thin pizza & thatis actually used as appetizer in Italy… her relatives looked a bit astonished at the menu and gobbled it up! My friend’s husband’s (by now) family could not understand this rush becoz they were eating slowly, in small portions, making conversations & getting to know one another along with sips of wine. Then the next course arrived which was soup and handmade rosemary-spelt bread with churned sweet butter or garlic butter plus a small plate of salald…. my friend’s family had eaten so fast, they could not do justice to the fantastic soup let alone the aromatic bread. They grew so sleepy that they were getting lost in conversations and basically feeling directionless… while… her husband’s family was slowly growing into the mood of the evening and singing, sharing of events from one another’s life began to make the evening very interesting. Then came the next course of fish, then the course of white meat with veges and lastly the desert. All in all the wedding meal lasted for about 4 hours or so and was truely an occassion where everyone enjoyed the carefully cooked meal, the guests, the decor and the grace of the servers…. except for my friend’s family who kept cursing their luck and by now learnt the new art of eating - SLOWLY & WITH ATTENTION - from this wedding event!!!!

To date, my friend follows this method (even if not a 4 hour meal, she has an hour or so time for dinner) and it has helped her much in bringing up her 3 kids becoz almost all crisis situations regarding their lives are solved while eating and disscussing enjoying. On sunday’s she says, everyone in her household looks forward to breakfast becoz inevitably it lasts for a longtime and so many topics are talked.

So, Slow eating was always there in many cultures… we have forgotten it as part of our urbanization & run for the mollah. Infact Ayurveda asks us to eat slowly so as to help the digestive system and also for the brain to get the time to send the signal when food is enuf! :)

Some of my best childhood memories are of my house servant sitting down to eat his afternoon meal. He ate slowly, carefully and spent a good ammount of time chewing. The joy he had at eating was a sight that made me respect food even more.:)

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