According to the Irish Independent last week, over half the working Irish eat lunch at their desk, a recent study has shown.

Is this you? Do you regularly stay put at your workstation to eat? If so, why?  The research showed that bad eating habits of colleagues may be the cause. We can quite understand if you happen to work with people who  have the eating habits of a chimpanzee’s tea party, that you wouldn’t want to dine with them in the staff canteen! But that deosn’t mean you can’t enjoy a little break away from the desk when lunchtime comes. The Zen principle of mindfulness also extends to eating. Being in the moment counts, even when you are scoffing a cheese sarnie! It’s about stopping and considering what you are doing, giving your body the best nutrition it can to fuel itself for the daily toil, and appreciating that little bit of time out to yourself. This sunny weather, we suggest you take yourself to a nearby outdoor space – be it the local park or the nearest public bench to the office. Enjoy the feel of the warm rays on your skin. Close off the hustle and bustle of traffic noise  and enjoy what you are about to eat. If you’ve bothered to make any effort with your lunch dish, you may find you start to appreciate with greater intensity the fresh tastes of a salad, the textures of a well contructed sandwich, or the feel of that favourite cup of soup on your tongue. The things that make a tasty lunch can be appreciated all the better with a little bit of Zen thinking about what you are doing and why!  Hopefully, it will  make even that quick twenty minutes away from your desk into a totally refreshing, refuelling break. You’ll be back after lunch, ready to tackle the demands of the afternoon!  Forget the colleagues who don’t know how to handle a knife and fork or may put the weirdest concoctions in their lunchboxes! Grab some time for being in the ‘now’ at lunchtime – just you and your sandwich! Let us know how you get on!