It’s Mother’s Day. Perhaps you got a box of chocolates. I’ve been thinking about chocolates a lot lately because I’m reading a book – Tuesdays with Morrie. It’s been around forever, but I never read it until now. I’m enjoying the short chapters, each complete with compelling dialog and deep thoughts. At first, I was running through the chapters one after another in one setting. Then I came to my senses and realized I should read one, sit with it, and really consider the words. Let them sink in and engage with them. Then put it away until the next day, the next chapter. I’ve found it to be much more enjoyable.

Then I had a flashback to visiting a dear friend in Mexico. She had been given a large box of chocolates. She ate one, offered me one, gave one to each of her two children, and then closed the box and put it back on top of the refrigerator. The next day we repeated the same scene. Same with the following day. How lovely. It occurred to me that’s the way to enjoy a box of chocolates—one by one, really savoring each bite, each flavor. I had been (and maybe still am) accustomed to scarfing them down, one after another. Looking back, I see it is much better to savor a single piece. Just as I’m realizing it’s better to savor a single short, inspirational chapter rather than mindlessly gulf down the whole book.

The next time you’re reading a short chapter, or picking a chocolate from a box, I hope you’ll give it some thought. Inhale deeply and appreciate it and savor it. Maybe I’ll continue to do that, too.  Meanwhile, happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers.