Have you ever blabbered?

If you are like any of the rest of us, you have probably, at some point, overly chattered about something. Maybe that speech pattern is part of your personality, or perhaps, you were so excited about the subject that you just couldn’t stop talking about it. Whatever! Palavering is part of all of us…even quiet little old me. For instance…

At a recent library committee meeting, we were discussing our recently read books. I began to gibber on about the book I had just read. I told the story of a jilted countess and couldn’t stop. Suddenly, the entire committee loudly interrupted me and told me to stop before I gave away the final interesting end of the book. It dawned on me that I had been blabbering on for too long. I learned a valuable lesson. Don’t blabber!

There are times when talking relieves our stress, and while attending a remarkable program about learning how to relieve stress, I realized how much there was to recognize and to acknowledge about stress.

Over the years, I have participated in a number of mindfulness events. While facilitating one class on mindfulness, one attendee refused to participate because she mistakingly thought we were teaching meditation. Nope! That’s a whole other ball game.

When you take a moment to fully sense that glass of wine you are tasting, mindfulness teaches us to recognize the full enjoyment of the wine. When stress is taking control of our lives, the technique asks us to use some simple activities to reduce that anxiety. The practice of this stress reducing activity asks us to stop for a moment and smell the roses. Take a few long deep breaths, flex various parts of your body and be aware of your feelings. If you need help, ask for it.

It’s like noticing how much you are tittle-tattling. Realize when too much is too much and relax. We’ve all sat in restaurants or coffee shops and thought people were gibbering too much. Yes, maybe those folks were a bit loud, but all blabber is not bad. It is a way to socialize and that’s very important for our overall well being.

All wines will not fit your fancy. However, that doesn’t mean they are a bad wine. I pulled the cork from a bottle of Marie Antoinette red wine, and mindfully immersed myself in this French blended wine. It’s made by bringing together Granache, Syrah and Mourvèdre grapes, and it spoke softly to me. There’s no palavering about the taste of the liquid. It right there at first sip and all the tastes of raspberry and plum are precise and concise. I’m not going to blabber on about this unique French blend. Try it, you’ll like it.

Have you ever noticed soft background music playing in a noisy environment? If the noise bothers you, be mindful of the music. It will lessen your anxiety and give you the opportunity to enjoy yourself.

As with so many things in life, wine speaks softly and loudly. If one doesn’t fit your need of the moment, try another one. After all, variety is the spice of life.

In today’s world, it’s very easy to let the awful blabber of some of our elected officials fill us with stress. However stressful the gibberish might be, don’t let us forget to stand up for our democracy. Our minds know us.

May your pathway be a balance of blabber and mindfulness.

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

Cheers!