In Minnesota, we are nearing the end of the fall color season, one of my favorite times of the year to be out enjoying nature. On a recent walk with my dog, I was taken aback by the picturesque landscape ahead, and we paused for a moment to take it all in: me, the beauty that lay before us, and him, to gather all the information that his olfactory sensors could provide.
This act got me thinking about the phrase, “savor the moment.” I was definitely doing just that, but what struck me was that what was actually happening for both me and my canine companion is that we were merely being present in the moment.
Perhaps that sounds completely logical to you, or maybe you think, “Of course, that is what savoring is.” I would like to suggest that while savoring definitely requires an individual to be present, in my opinion, presence is even more important.
Psychology professor Fred Bryant of Loyola University Chicago defines savoring as, “the capacity to attend to, appreciate, and enhance the positive experiences in one’s life.” Bryant’s research is essential to our understanding of how savoring operates as an emotion regulator. His work indicates that individuals regulate positive emotions by employing savoring strategies associated with three different time dimensions: mentally reflecting upon past positive experiences, mindfully attending to positive experiences in the moment, and contemplating positive experiences likely to occur in the future.
Results of a study by Jeffrey J. Klibert, et al., published in 2022 in Frontiers in Psychology, suggest that savoring the moment may be more effective than reflective savoring (reflecting on a past positive experience) or anticipatory savoring (anticipating a future positive experience).
The empirical evidence that mindful attention in the moment can help regulate our emotions supports a belief that I hold. If we are truly present for all the events in our life, then we are not engaged in grasping or trying to hold on to the moment and we are not pushing away the moment and any feelings we have. Encountering a wide range of emotions enables us to fully process our ongoing experiences.
That is precisely what I was noticing. In that moment, walking down that beautiful trail, I felt joy and awe for the beauty of the fall colors, as well as sadness that we were nearing the end of my favorite time of year. I felt glad that the weather was nice enough for me to be out and melancholy that my parents, who helped instill my love of fall foliage, did not have the mobility to enjoy this walk with me. I also felt profound gratitude for my senses and pride in having the presence of mind to stop striving for a moment, put aside my goal of exercising and walking the dog, and just be.
What would happen if you hit pause on your strive button for a moment?
What experience would you have?
What would you see, smell, hear, touch, and taste?
What emotions would you feel?
The truth is that when I did this, it didn’t prevent me from accomplishing my goal. I exercised, and my dog got walked. It truly enhanced my enjoyment of both activities. And, better yet, I get to take that entire experience with me so that I can also reflectively savor it and anticipate the next time I get to have a similar experience. Pretty cool, if you ask me!
