A Dollop of Atmosphere

Food, fork, and fresh air.

The same salad at home in your kitchenette on the same plates you’ve used for years under the lamp that needs a dusting just can’t compare to that same salad in a new location.

I’m sure they have been double-blind randomized controlled trial of the same salad into different locations, or, should we say, two different atmospheres. The atmosphere influences the state of mind which sends signals into the brain which convinces the taste buds that is possibly one of the best salads were recorded in the long-term memory.

The change of location changes your state of mind. This is partly why food taste better at a dinner party or on vacation.

Create the Atmosphere

You don’t need to wait for your Hawaii vacation. It’s your state of mind, you have at least some influence over it. Take a random Thursday at the office and bring your Tupperware a salad for a spot you’ve never been sick. Imagine it’s where you want to be so much but you wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world at that moment eating anything else. In fact, it’s a privilege to be eating that salad at that spot on this fine day.

Don’t compare the moment with one of the past or the future. This is the only moment but exists in time and you’re the only one there. This moment will never come again, according to the laws of time. Open your Tupperware. Take it slow and try to distinguish the different ingredients. Was that a raisin or cranberry? Chew with sincerity and savor each flavor and its unique relationship with your tongue. Enjoy.