Dwelling

What did you have for breakfast today? (Go ahead, take a moment to remember.)

Was it good? Did you taste it? I mean, really taste it. Let the flavors roll across your palate. Feel the texture of the eggs, the crunch of the salsa, the tang of the coffee.

Or did the food go down as you did other things. Like me, maybe you read the paper while you ate. Or you were driving somewhere eating a muffin and drinking coffee and -- just to make it exciting -- talking on the phone.

Pleasure requires stopping our multi-tasking maniac minds from rushing on ahead. The goal? Noticing the moment. Why? Because it is in the moment, and only there, that we can experience pleasure at all.

"Yes, right," the mind says. "Eating lovely food. Got it. But now I need to plan for that meeting and balance my mental checkbook to figure out if I can buy those shoes."

Or worse yet, the mind marches down its familiar ruts and grooves, taking you back to the saddest story ever told: the breakup of the ages or the world's worst boss awards program playing in your head, or the barrista who brazenly took someone else's order ahead of yours even though you were standing right there.

Where to dwell?

That is called dwelling, a funny little domesticated-sounding word that could be the end of your pleasurable life if you let it. But here's the key.

You get to choose where to dwell. You can stay forever in the mental line while the barrista takes order after order ahead of you.

Or you can turn your attention to something beautiful. The woman ahead of you has on a great blouse. The child with her is going up on her tippy toes and coming back down, over and over, just like you used to do. You might notice that the sun is coming out, that there is a gentle breeze moving through the bushes making a rustling sound.

You have a wonderful set of sensory apparatus that will guide you to delight in any moment you choose it.

So choose your dwelling place with care and watch as your life fills with joy.