What Red Wine Taught Me During COVID-19

I’ve been thinking about wine tasting.

Yes! You heard me right!

Wine tasting!

Specifically red wine tasting.

Now, I’m not actually a devoted drinker but I do love to appreciate and savour quality red wine.

So over the years, I’ve been curious about finding deeply full bodied red wines to enhance and embellish my experiences.

Let’s be clear here, though.

It's more of a part-time love affair than a full-time obsession that I'm talking about.

I'm thinking more quality rather than quantity because I very rarely drink alcohol actually.

But none the less, it's a curiosity that won't go away until it's conquered.

Which will be never, I reckon because they'll always be an amazing winemaker somewhere looking to produce delicious wine for us.

And so, as random as this may seem, every so often I get triggered about red wine.

What triggered me this time?

Well, as I write this I’m in coronovirus lockdown - April 2020.

It’s a Sunday over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, a sunny day and I’m in the garden reading a book that is encouraging me to savour luscious wine the way I should savour life.

It’s not even a wine book but the mere mention of it activates visions of what red wines I should explore next.

I feel confident that I know what I want but I've no idea whether it's actually possible or just one of my own creations.

I mean, I’ve never been to a wine tasting event but if I did and they were to ask me what I was looking for, I’d probably say something like:

“A full-bodied red wine that’s soft and smooth, rich in flavours of berries, dark chocolate, vanilla and slightly tannic. It should also have a finish that has low acidity as it kisses the back of my throat with an aroma of black cherry fruit.”

I can imagine smelling, tasting, swirling, savouring, pausing, pondering, lingering and being giddy with delight as all my boxes are ticked.

So, as I embrace the sun and receive an overdue dose of vitamin D today, the mere mention of savouring wine not only inspires me to enjoy my imaginary wine tasting experiences but also to reflect on what's truly occuring for me right now.

… COVID 19.

This COVID 19 lockdown pandemic has actually givien me even more space and time to smell, taste, swirl, savour, pause, ponder and linger the everyday things in my life.

I notice more. I see more. I'm aware of more.

Without making light of its impact, the coronavirus has really heightened my ability to appreciate my life and the people I choose to have in it.

I feel positively enhanced.

Like a systems upgrade!

You see, I’ve found myself seeing and experiencing things from an unimagined corner of the room where I've been forced to feel into new ways rather than uncomfortably feeling boxed in.

I've discoverd renewed courage, truth, trust and unwavering self belief.

In this moment, as I continue to metaphorically indulge in my own full-bodied red wine, a sharing comes to mind that I'd love to share with you.

“Learn to pause… or nothing worthwhile will catch you up." Doug King

I'm curious about how much you've chosen to slow down?

Are you still fighting against the habit of being on a daily hamster wheel?

If so, I really do encourage you to use this time to consciously SLOW DOWN.

Pehaps you’re already doing it.

Hats off to you if you are.

If you’re not there quite yet, why not start by slowing down on your everyday experiences.

If you are there, why not find new ways to continue.

Here's my 3 accessible tips to assist you with taking action on finally slowing down throughout this unusual COVID 19 pandemic.

3 Tips For Slowing Down

1. Take time with your everyday experiences, especially the ones you rush.

   You know, the ones you'd usually prioritise to the top of your ‘automatic pilot' or ‘duty' list and demote to the bottom of your ‘priority’ and ‘engagement’ list.

   Experiences like brushing your teeth, walking, beverage making, connecting with others, exercising, bathing, eating, solitary moments.

   What if they became something other than fillers during this coronvirus pandemic?

   What might that look like?

   Invite yourself to explore this and make a conscious effort to slow down and really sip on your proverbial wine.

2. Add more minutes to your quiet time and use it to observe where within the ‘slowing down’ practice your impetus arises from.

   Our body speaks before our mind so listen to its purity and acknowledge its messages.

   As you hear, bring awareness to where exactly within the body it's coming from..

   Is it rising from your gut, your heart, your upper back, your pelvis, somewhere else?

   Is this where much of your instinctual drive usually eminates from?

   Just observe without judgement and be playfully aware.

   Then, consider the practice of self-compassion to hold it in.

   Reflect on experiential moments of kindness that you have given to others.

   Now, embrace these positive memories and extend the virtue you feel towards yourself.

   It's in this moment that you can consciously sit, slow down and pause with them.

   Allow their goodness to infuse and permeate your being with feelings of appreciation, love and gratitude.

3. Offer yourself ‘time affluent’ (time rich) thoughts rather than ‘time poverty’ (time poor) thoughts.

   Be mindful about how you're using your time from this moment on. This refers to the time you commit to yourself and to the time you offer others.

   Create opportunities to partake in activities that will cultivate pleasure for you not only for today but also for tomorrow.

   These moments are sacred and it's only by putting them into practice that you can successfuly create the space to be nourished by them.

My hope for you today dear creative, as we share this uniting pandemic chapter together, is that you emerge from it with a clearer vision of what pleasure and personal meaning are to you.

I wish for you to develop a conscious undestanding of what being productive, creative, loving and respectful of others means.

I wish for you a deliberate retreat away from stress, anger, cruelty, inertia and being uncompassionate.

A step that's closer towards love and the most important emotional currency there is: happiness.

To be precise, your happiness.

I wish for you the ability to take this time to BE MORE instead of feeding the desire to DO MORE.

To slow down… right down.

Take your time, dear soul.

Savour, swirl, taste, pause, ponder, smell and linger.

In no particular order.

Sip on your proverbial wine, choose to positively manage your emotions and mental health.

Choose to safe guard your time.

Choose to say ‘no’ where you would usually say “yes."

Choose to make wise choices.

Choose to hold on to less… that little bit more.

This is the pefect time to grow, develop and to let go of experiences that stunt you.

Be the grapes on the vine that ripen to their fullest true expression, nurtured in nourishing soil and flourishing in a positive environment.

Choose to be there so that you can serve yourself and in turn joyfully serve others.

This is the time to completely SLOW DOWN because if you choose not to wake up in this moment, who knows when as a nation, we'll ever be given the opportunity to collectively slow down together again.