A Chocolate Taster's Guide To An Autumnal Reawakening Of Our Senses
“Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.” Oscar Wild
As September unfolds and woods are starting to change the colors of the foliage, mourning the loss of summer can sneak into our minds. Many of us think of summer as the peak of life in nature, and autumn as its end, the fall, the big drop. The mundanity, as we return to our day-to-day lives in September, easily takes away the magic of the careless life that summer awakes in us. The burden of everyday life can make us question what is the point of it all. To a chocolate taster, there is one simple answer to that question: “Chocolate!”
Chocolate, in all her decadence and glory does not like summer heat too much. She prefers the coziness of autumn and the crispness of a fresh September’s evening. Chocolate can help us remember that the magic of life’s joy is not in hot and careless summer nights, but it is within us and that we have all that is needed to enjoy life, in all its manifestations, at any time and season.
Our senses are instruments of our body which we use to experience the world and life around us. Yet, we tend to take them for granted; we focus on basic functionality, forgetting the magic that our senses can reveal to us. Our moods are affected by what we take in through our senses, and if our senses are numb, our emotions are as well. Oscar Wilde said: “Nothing can cure the soul but the senses, just as nothing can cure the senses but the soul.”
Mindful tasting of chocolate is one of those activities that can awake our senses, connect our outer and inner worlds, engage our memories and emotions.
Much more than just munching on chocolate, tasting means using all of our five senses in a mindful, focused way. We start tasting the chocolate by looking at the design of the wrapper, the color and the shine of the chocolate bar, hearing the snap as we brake the piece of chocolate, smelling the aroma, feeling the warmth of our fingers softening the chocolate, how chocolate melts in our mouth (yes, do not chew, but let it slowly melt on your tongue) and finally ponder into the waves of flavors that chocolate brings. With over 400 flavour compounds, chocolate is one of the most complex foods in the world. Mindful tasting is not only a sensory exploration, it is about respecting the tree that gave the fruit that the chocolate is made of, respecting all the people who worked hard to make that chocolate, from the seeds in the tropical rainforest to our cozy rooms so that we can enjoy it. At the end, it is about respecting the very moment we took to enjoy this piece of chocolate; about appreciating how this chocolate made us feel, emotions aroused, memories evoked.
Chocolate is maybe one of the tastiest ways to engage our senses, to awake our souls, to explore worlds inside and around us. But the explorations never end. Using the same tools as in chocolate tasting, go for a walk and discover the sensuality of the autumn. The vibrant colors of the woods, the rustle sounds of fallen leaves, the rich taste of ripe fruits, the smoky smell of the first stove fires, the warm touch of the blankets we snuggle under in the evenings …
Autumn is a season of transitions that connects two worlds, the outside world of nature and the inner world of our souls. Its gifts invite us to go inside ourselves, to discover what the summer energy has changed inside of us, to rediscover who we are now, in the new season.
Greet autumn as not just the end of summer, but as a beginning, the beginning of the everlasting cycle of growth. As the trees have to let go the leaves in order to be ready for the new green leaves in the spring, we also have to let go of what is not longer needed and nourish the seeds of the new us so we can rebirth every day and grow. And when the summer comes again, we will have new space within us to fill it with its life-giving energy again and again.
Don’t let your joy of life fade away with summer, let the richness of the autumn help you make it a part of you, snuggle up under the blanket, take a piece of chocolate, melt on your tongue and let it take you to the journey to the center of your soul.
If you would like to be inspired and read more of Tarantula’s stories as well as to support the hard working team behind Tarantula, please click on the below button.