Day 15: A Bit of Indulgence

I have to confess that I fear being excessive. Excessive with food, alcohol, emotions, pleasure, anything and everything. I spend too much time in my own headspace wondering whether or not I'm finding the right balance between all of these things. Yet somehow, being at this conference in beautiful Puerto Rico has been a wonderful way of testing the importance of indulgence as a self-care practice. A test of how to not restricting pleasure because of a fear of losing control. Rachel said: 

sometimes a bit of indulgence serves me well... chocolate, decadent foods and drinks, movies  - at the right times these treats remind me of the richness of life, they fill me with gratitude for the opportunity to enjoy my senses...as long as I don't overindulge (: 

So here are the things I did today in my performance of self-indulgence:

Morning sandwich. Photo by Carmen :-)

1.) Ordered me that ham, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich at the local cornershop/bodega that I had been talking about the previous night. Served on a white roll. It was as DELICIOUS as I thought it would be. 

2.) Left the conference midday to go swim, walk on the beach, and enjoy the sun and time with my friend. The key here was indulging in play time and abandoning any sense of guilt about not going to every single conference event. 

3.) Ate a delicious and somewhat more expensive meal than I am used at Raices in Old San Juan. I ordered a traditional Puerto Rican dish that everyone kept telling me to try: mofongo with steak. I followed it up with cheese flan for dessert.

Mofongo with steak @ Raices. Image from Yelp

4.) Later in the evening I enjoyed a friend's homemade reese's peanut butter cups while I finished up a paper.

Engaging and indulging my senses on all levels: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. These four moments were peppered throughout my workday (I promise, I really am working!) but they made the day that much more enjoyable, because they allowed me moments of  pleasure and reflection. A simple reminder of the good things in life and that excess need not always be feared.