Relaxed Mindfullness

[Not A Nice Person]

Recently, I was spending time with a BOTL as we tried to educate his girl in the fine art of smoking cigars . . . and it seemed to me that her problems with lighting and burn and, well, pretty much everything else stemmed from a basic misunderstanding about what smoking a fine cigar entails:

Relaxed mindfulness.

That Zen state of not hurrying, but not forgetting about the cigar in hand, either. And it occurs to me that this is the secret of cigar enjoyment---relaxing, taking your time, not being in a hurry. Letting the light happen through the slow, deliberate torching of the foot and following through with just enough attention to keep the cigar burning well, but avoiding the huffing and puffing that leads to runs and canoeing.

It's a slowing down and contemplating life and the cigar simultaneously. Concentrating not on finishing, but on enjoyment.

Old news to old hands, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

~Boar

 

[burn-slow]

I've also found that you should never go into a cigar a specific expectation, it can cause you to hurry through the smoke looking for it and thus you miss what that smoke really has to offer. Just my opinion and I know that it's hard sometimes especially when there's ben a lot of hype about the smoke.

 

[The Black Cloud]

I always mention to people who don't know much about cigars that you'll never see a cigar smoker standing outside of an office building in bad weather, desperate for a smoke. And there have been times, during herfs or with other friends, that minutes go by without a word being spoken and everyone just enjoying the cigar and the moment. That's something non-smokers never understand.

It ain't the destination, it's the journey.