A few weeks ago, I picked up a watermelon at the market. Melon hunting continues to be a mysterious experience for me. I have never quite picked up on what I’m listening for with all the thumping and knocking. I usually look for one heavy for its size and scratched up. I’m told the discoloration and ugly lines mean it has ripened in the field and is full of sweetness. The uglier the better. Even still, it’s a guessing game, each time crossing my fingers hoping to win the watermelon lottery.
So.. I cut into this melon and it’s bright red. Yay! And then I give it a taste. Mehh.. at this point, I’m thinking I had picked a rotten one. The taste was off and I was ready to toss it when I had a friend try a bite. She seemed to think it was good. I tried another bite and realized that maybe it is okay. Maybe it’s not the melon, but me. I had just finished eating a giant salad with a myriad of ingredients tossed in a cilantro-lime dressing. I put the chopped watermelon in the fridge and tried it again later. Delicious! Sweetest watermelon I had purchased all summer and maybe the sweetest one I’ve purchased in the past two years.
Strange thing, isn’t it? Something tasted with a fresh palate changes the experience. My tongue had been tainted by what I ate previously and I wasn’t able to fully experience the sweetness of the watermelon. Not only did I not experience how great it was, but I was ready to toss it out thinking the melon was bad.
I see how true this is in life. All of our experiences, we judge as good or bad. Are we “tasting” life with a fresh new palate or are we experiencing life through a mask of old beliefs and limited thoughts that we have not yet let go of?
When I go out for sushi, it’s always served with a bit of ginger as a palate cleanser. Other times, I’ve been to a teahouse where they serve a small sorbet, which serves the same purpose. A palate cleanser is a way to cleanse the taste buds of previous flavors so that each course or bite can be experienced fully as intended, it’s pure essence, and enhance the experience of the meal.
Certainly, we’ve got to have some sort of palate cleansers for life. What a muddled mess my life has become when I’ve brought old beliefs and stories and fears to my current experiences. How often I have brought fears and stories from old relationships into the new ones. And how often have I stopped myself from new life experiences from the fears of how previous ones turned out? What if I could begin each experience new and fresh? Untainted with previous fears, perceptions, false story telling, and the old monkey mind.
I’ve discovered that an asana based yoga practice as well as meditation is the best life palate cleanser for me. In each spinal twist, in each ujjayi breath, and every warrior pose, I’m forced into a stillness and quiet. And in that space, I squeeze out a little more of my past story. A little more of that cilantro-lime dressing that’s masking the sweetness of this fresh new sweet watermelon gets cleansed away. That big salad with cilantro-lime dressing was perfect when I had it, but it belongs in the past, in the moment I ate it. It doesn’t belong in my bowl of watermelon. What are your old stories and beliefs that are holding you back from enjoying this moment?
If yoga doesn’t call to you, the essence of the practice is found along many paths. Maybe you find it in running, nature, being near water, prayer, church, a long hug, swimming, cooking, etc. Seek out and spend some time with those things that create stillness and quiet in your body and mind. That place where everything feels fresh and new. There, you’ll find the secret to life.
