La vida lenta

The debate on whether to purchase a ticket for the Chilean food and wine demo started out like so many others: Is it really worth spending $45.

As the week went on, work took a toll on my energy, the weather turned crappy and my friends all decided they couldn't make it. By the time Friday rolled around, all I wanted to do was curl up on the couch in my comphies with some nice vino. There were so many reasons to just not go. Was it too late to get a refund?

But when the woman from Castillo de Molina vineyards stepped to the front of the Apron's Cooking School classroom and started speaking, I knew I ended up there for a reason. If nothing else, this evening was meant to renew my perspective on living.

"You all probably heard that in my home today there was an earthquake," Carolina Rivera started, referring to the 7.2 magnitude aftershock that hit Chile that morning.

As she continued, she didn't dwell on mass destruction, death or devastation. She talked something much simpler: wine cellars.

"A lot of people had wine cellars with years worth of wine stored away that got destroyed," she said. "They were all saving it for some special occasion. Now it's gone. They will never be able to enjoy it."

Call me all zen and metaphorical, but her words struck a chord. Her story of the wine cellars may seem superficial, but it's really about something so much more. Something everyone can relate to and learn from.

How many times do we put off doing things we enjoy, let work or a standard of practicality keep us from happiness. Instead, we save our money, make our plans, keep climbing to the top. But where are we really climbing?

And what if something beyond our control - health, natural disaster, an accident - keeps us from ever making it? Maybe it's not making it to the top of the pyramid that matters. Maybe just the fact that we got to climb it at all is what's important.

The story of the wine cellars reminded me of a story I heard in Israel. Our tour guides told us how many people in the country are buried in credit card debt. In a country where terrorist attacks have taken thousands of lives, people live in the moment, even if that means being somewhat indulgent. They may not be around when the bill comes.

Sure, that is probably a little extreme. But the point is to live for the day. On a small scale, enjoy that bottle of wine if you have it. Sign up for that cooking class. Go after that bigger thing you always wanted. You may not always have a chance to do it.

She called it the slow life.

"The slow life is the best life," she said.

That was the start of a lovely two hours where the team of Publix chefs paraded out a four course meal complete with salmon, a Chilean sea bass dish to die for, empanadas, tamales, and merlot poached pear. Of course there were four types of vino. I even made a new local foodie friend.

Chile has become a new fascination for me, largely because I've taken to the rich red wines they produce there. I had started making plans to visit at some point this year, but put them off.

Maybe it's time I reconsider ...