Each summer we select audience favourites from The Gist archives to share with all of you. This year we are doing a throwback to our early days with a series on the senses and their impact on our collective well-being. Not just our five physical senses but also our awareness which allows us to develop better habits of mind, feel more compassion for others and practice grateful living. Given the degree of upheaval and hyper-partisanship around the world there is no better time to revisit how we can think about and respond more critically to everything going on within and around us. Whether you've been with us from the beginning or are new to The Gist, we hope you enjoy this summer selection.
We continue with John Kabat-Zinn's exploration of the senses. He talks about taste as fundamental to our survival. Outside of breathing, eating and drinking are essential to our existence. Our ancestors used a keenly developed sense of taste to forage for food. As humans discovered agriculture, the art and science of cooking grew over centuries into the incredible array of flavours and varieties of food in global cuisine.
Few of us today have to cultivate or hunt for our food but eating remains quite central in our lives. Ironically, as our food supplies have grown and many of us are privileged to have plentiful to eat, we have begun to take food, and in turn taste, for granted. We are no longer just eating for sustenance, but to meet other needs like social bonding over food, eating for pleasure or over-eating as a way to deal with negative emotions. See full transcript.
Photo credit: Louis Hansel

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