The Importance of Indulging

Have you ever indulged?  In fact, what does it even mean to indulge?

Most of our waking lives are consumed by what has to be done in order to survive.  We shower to be clean, eat either to live or just to consume, buy in order to feel better or feel powerful, watch TV for distraction or boredom.  Our lives and activities become forms of distractions or have to’s and we begin to forget how wonderful simplicity can feel.

So, have you ever indulged?

When you hear this, I’m sure you think of things like eating an entire box of chocolates or buying yourself a 58” television or some kind of activity where you completely spoil yourself with a need to feel like you are treating yourself to something your normally would not do.  I suppose most people think of this when they think of indulging, but I challenge you to see it a different way.

To me, indulging has a way of being associated with something kind of mindless. Something that people do because they are so tired with their day to day lifestyle that they need a break from the norm and an escape into something that is normally taboo in their life; something they normally stay clear of.  But when I say it is good to indulge, what I mean to say is this: have you ever considered a person, a place or a thing, perhaps a favorite book or song, the park, the smell after it rains, your significant other, your child, the wind as it lightly touches your skin on a sunny day and truly admired it for what it is?  Have you ever acknowledged it or indulged in it in every aspect and understood it for all that it is worth and respected it for all of its possibilities?

We go through our days not realizing that every moment could be a moment of indulgence.  Every day we could take something we would pass up as normal and indulge in it, rather than waiting for a day every month where we “take a break to spoil ourselves”, because everything around us isn’t worth indulging over.

Don’t always think of indulging for superficial pleasure, begin to indulge because you sincerely want to feel and know on a different level.  Indulge in drinking water, don’t just drink the water, admire its beauty, taste every single part of it as it touches your lips, your teeth, your taste buds.  Feel it as it goes down your throat and into your entire body as it helps sustain your life and quench your thirst.  If the elevator at work is broken and you have to take the stairs, indulge in that action.  Walk up the stairs with a sense of pride, know that at that moment you are alive, that your legs are pushing you up in a vertical motion, you are defying gravity by moving upward, your heart is pumping the blood inside of you in order to keep you moving.  When you are eating the same meal for lunch for the third day in a row, taste everything that went into that meal, taste the freedom of being able to eat, feel the energy as it goes into your body, smell the richness in your life that you are putting into your body.  Indulge.

Try this and notice the difference it makes in your daily life.  See and feel every aspect of what is around you.  Next time you come across a simple moment in your life, indulge in it in the way that I have stated above.  Don’t just go through the motions, actually live the motions, be that moment.

Walk through life knowing why and how you are walking.  Indulge every once in a while in the pleasures that you don’t normally see as a pleasure.

Will you take this challenge?

 

Ariana Renteria is the creator and writer of a place in the pattern. Her passion for writing and enthusiasm in making a difference in the lives of people was the inspiration for her blog.

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