-Savor-
To delight in, enjoy or appreciate completely, especially by dwelling on it.
“Savoring is an art that humans have long forgotten, but something we are craving to restore.” Melissa Helser
I’m back on the World Race (WR), this time as a squad leader. The places, smells and tastes of Central America and the WR are familiar to me here. I’ve been in Costa Rica for a week and I’ve quickly been reminded of my love of plantain chips with a hint of limón, the excitement of being in a new place with new people, and the opportunity of adventure and life change at every corner.
The atmosphere is familiar. But my presence in it is not.
I don’t think I could have noticed the shifts if I hadn’t been put back in the same space, but I have been put back here on the WR; and this time it’s with new eyes, a fuller heart, and a greater capacity to savor.
This week I’ve found myself savoring the things I avoided or grew irritated with 2 years ago. Travel day mishaps, international phones not working, and an evening sky fading black without knowing where I’ll sleep that night no longer cause anxiety, but instead welcome an opportunity to talk to a local and share a moment in time with a stranger who’s now a friend. Painting white walls, washing playground equipment, and wearing the same t-shirt for the 4th day in a row are now opportunities to share stories, be silly, and laugh. Taxi rides gone wrong, standing on a bus for three times the length of time you were told it would be, and quick conversations turned to lengthy ones aren’t interruptions getting in my way of living my life anymore, they are life itself.
I’ve learned the value of experiencing pain, sitting in grief, and inviting joy into every confusing, uncertain, and unplanned moment.
This time, this World Race, this day, this season I’ll choose to savor.
