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“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” —Linda Grayson
A couple weeks back a few friends and I shared an incredible experience over chocolate.
Let me first tell you about the chocolate. Someone handed me a piece of chocolate. I wasn’t impressed. The person that handed me the chocolate asked me to follow her process. She told me to study the wrapping. I saw how it looked and noticed how it felt in my hands. She asked me to unwrap the chocolate. I listened to the crackling of the wrapping. I noticed how the wrapping felt; a little rough. I noticed how it looked; shiny. When I unwrapped the chocolate, I noticed that it felt smooth in my hands, with a few ridges. I took a big whiff; I could smell the cocoa. I put the chocolate in my mouth and was told not to bite it. WHAT!!?? That’s not how you eat chocolate… right? Reluctantly, I followed the instructions. I let the chocolate slowly melt on my tongue. I noticed the texture as it melted—it was creamy. I could taste the eggs, milk, sugar, and cocoa that went into making it. It took me 15 minutes to eat a small piece of chocolate.
Imagine the relationship my friends and I built over those 15 minutes.
What was the chocolate? It does not really matter. It wasn’t a fancy piece of Swiss or Belgian chocolate. If you must know, it was an ordinary piece of candy available at your local convenient store—a Cadbury Dark Chocolate Mini Egg.
This mini egg was the best piece of chocolate I ever ate. Why? I took my time. I was present in the moment of eating the chocolate. More importantly, I shared this experience with some great friends.
Being present is a big part of building relationships, at work, and at home. If you notice every nuance, pay attention to every word, give someone or something your undivided attention—like I did with an ordinary piece of chocolate—imagine the relationships you could build.
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” —Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Have a great weekend. Make sure you enjoy some chocolate.
—Vijay
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About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!
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“There is nothing better than a friend, unless it is a friend with chocolate.” —Linda Grayson
A couple weeks back a few friends and I shared an incredible experience over chocolate.
Let me first tell you about the chocolate. Someone handed me a piece of chocolate. I wasn’t impressed. The person that handed me the chocolate asked me to follow her process. She told me to study the wrapping. I saw how it looked and noticed how it felt in my hands. She asked me to unwrap the chocolate. I listened to the crackling of the wrapping. I noticed how the wrapping felt; a little rough. I noticed how it looked; shiny. When I unwrapped the chocolate, I noticed that it felt smooth in my hands, with a few ridges. I took a big whiff; I could smell the cocoa. I put the chocolate in my mouth and was told not to bite it. WHAT!!?? That’s not how you eat chocolate… right? Reluctantly, I followed the instructions. I let the chocolate slowly melt on my tongue. I noticed the texture as it melted—it was creamy. I could taste the eggs, milk, sugar, and cocoa that went into making it. It took me 15 minutes to eat a small piece of chocolate.
Imagine the relationship my friends and I built over those 15 minutes.
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Blog Image” src=”https://j2-solutions.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Chocolate-Relationships-e1494528215761.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”center” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” /][et_pb_text admin_label=”Blog Body” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” border_style=”solid” disabled=”off” disabled_on=”off|off|” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.63″]
What was the chocolate? It does not really matter. It wasn’t a fancy piece of Swiss or Belgian chocolate. If you must know, it was an ordinary piece of candy available at your local convenient store—a Cadbury Dark Chocolate Mini Egg.
This mini egg was the best piece of chocolate I ever ate. Why? I took my time. I was present in the moment of eating the chocolate. More importantly, I shared this experience with some great friends.
Being present is a big part of building relationships, at work, and at home. If you notice every nuance, pay attention to every word, give someone or something your undivided attention—like I did with an ordinary piece of chocolate—imagine the relationships you could build.
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.” —Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
Have a great weekend. Make sure you enjoy some chocolate.
—Vijay
[/et_pb_text][et_pb_divider admin_label=”Blog Divider” color=”#b2b2b2″ show_divider=”on” divider_style=”solid” divider_position=”top” hide_on_mobile=”off” height=”5″ /][et_pb_text admin_label=”FFfT Info” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_line_height=”1.3em” saved_tabs=”all” global_module=”119231″ background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”]
About Friday Food for Thought (FFfT)
I frequently attend conferences and retreats on entrepreneurship and leadership and while I am away, the J2 team picks up the slack, allowing me to learn to be better at what I do. I wanted to share what I was learning with my team, so I created the weekly FFfT emails in November of 2015 and have been writing them ever since.
Before long, the J2 staff began sharing the FFfT emails with their friends and family and now other leaders have asked to be included, which led to the creation of this newsletter. I hope you enjoy!
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