In case you haven’t noticed, you receive many messages everyday.

And to add to that statement, your messages come in varied formats. Yup, many messages and in many formats.

If you haven’t begun to count your daily messages types, do so now. You receive verbal messages, non-verbal messages, hand signals, the look from one’s eyes, their posture, the sound of their voice and the gesticulations of their hands as they speak.

And, those formats are just the beginning. How about those phone calls, letters, texts, emails and all the messages you might receive from all of your social media platforms? Wow! The amount of messages one receives everyday blows your mind and we just take them for granted.

Why do we take them for granted? Perhaps it’s because they are part of who we are — we grew up and into them. So, no big deal, right? Ah, no! Messaging is a really big deal and has evolved over many centuries to where we are today. Even those unnamed persons who lived in caves a long time ago messaged each other — wouldn’t it have been interesting to witness how they “talked” to each other?

Of course, everything around us sends us a message, too. The clouds in the sky foretell weather events. The sound of trees tell us how comfortable we are going to be when we take a walk — whether the wind will be challenging or pleasing. If you know birds, you can tell how their day is going by the sound of their chirps. Looking at the leaves on trees tells us how the tree is doing and, even, what season of the year it is. Nature talks to us. Have you ever talked back to it?

A few months ago, my New York City based grandson visited the aircraft carrier Intrepid. The ship is retired and has been turned into a naval museum. Our grandson was enthralled by the ship — the immense size of it and all the various bits of information that he could read and learn about the vessel. A picture was taken of him standing in front of a bulletin board showing Morse Code. Hmmm … I know something about that code. Maybe, just maybe…

I’ll call our grandson Aksman — that’s easier for me. He knows I was in the Navy and when I told him I was involved with Morse Code, we thought it would be fun for me to teach him the code. So Morse Code books were purchased and weekly lessons began via FaceTime. For the first time in a long time, we get to spend time together and talk about what’s happening and, of course, do our Morse Code lessons. He knows the code is history but it connects us.

The Code is like so many other things in life that send us messages. Think again about all those influences you receive everyday that affect your day’s activities. By the way, food and wine send us messages, too.

A long time ago sipping a wine was, well, just that, sipping a liquid. Then, like Aksman, I began to listen to the wine and try to understand what message it was sending me via my eyes, nose and mouth — the sensory elements we use to receive and decipher messages of the items around us.

I learned wines have many different textures, scents, tastes and finishes. In them, I found the message of the wine.

Take for instance, Cavit Riesling — a very nice Italian wine. One doesn’t equate Italy with Riesling very much (The Germans do a good job of promoting it as their premier wine.) but the Italians grow the grape in northern mountain country and the resulting Cavit is a semi-sweet wine with delicious citrus flavors backed up with some acidity. It tells me the story of northern Italy and the beauty that can be found there.

Well, since we know Riesling can be grown in places other than Germany, let’s taste a Sterling Riesling from the Central Coast of California. The message here is dryer with lots of peach/apple tastes and a crisp finish. The wine tells me that the environment is warmer than Cavits, has a longer growing season and, therefore, a luscious taste. I never get tired of its message.

Talking about apple and peach flavors, I receive a similar message from 101 North Chardonnay. The wine reminds me that a Chardonnay should have a creamy/buttery taste with a soft side to it. This wine can talk to me any darn time it wants to.

Yes, we receive messages from everything — we just need to realize it, embrace them and grow with them. May you receive endearing messages…

As always, eat and drink in moderation but laugh with reckless abandon!

Cheers!