I like to eat fruits in its season... it it the best!
Do you know what I'm talking about by the way?
I'm simply asking because I have many people coming over who hardly know what I mean...
(most people we host come from what we call western "developed countries")
I have difficulties with these terms and I don't want to discuss this common terminology now, so I'll just use brackets...
In the "western civilization" today we can eat all sorts of fruits any time of the year...some of these fruits I wouldn't even be able to spell correctly because they are so foreign... Most people get all excited about it, but aren't we losing something with this, I wonder?
I was just offered a piece of melon which I refused, simply because it's the only fruit I don't really like ( I tried often to see if my taste buds had changed, but it still doesn't convince me)
I always admire the pleasure of those who take a bite on a nice piece of melon in a hot summer day, but it really doesn't appeal to me...
Now, wait a minute! it's not summer yet! we're still in the beginning of spring here...Hmmm...
That's when I started to think we are missing something here...
I believe most of us are losing the gift and pleasure of appreciating the right things at the right time...
We're raised with a mentality that when we want something now, we have to have it NOW...
we no longer want to deal with things like "waiting", "expecting", "looking forward" ( I will not even mention "faith" or "trust" here)...
And we are losing something good with that mentality...
we are losing the excitement of when the expected things arrive... or the surprise... or the acknowledgement of a miracle taking place...
We are losing the joy and fulfillment when something that we are so longing for finally arrives...
I used to do something to allow myself this kind of feeling... I walk bare-foot, I always loved it since I was a child...the cool thing about it is that we are able to feel all sorts of different grounds, and each of them give us a different feeling...
Some are rocky and thorny, not so pleasant I would say, and usually I tend to walk more carefully and slower... but some are soft and grassy, or muddy and mushy, and it feels good for my feet (specially after walking in thorny grounds)...
You might wonder what I´m trying to say here... What fruit in season has anything to do with walking barefoot?
what I get from these bare-footed experiences is that I can only appreciate the pleasure of walking in soft grassy ground after I've experienced walking in a rocky or thorny ground...
Does it make sense now?
Going back to the fruits before I get lost (or probably you are already lost here, sorry)...
Wouldn't it be much more pleasurable to enjoy each fruit in its season, freshly picked up from the tree (with no chemicals of course), instead of eating any fruit whenever we wanted it?
For instance, Mango trees (which is one of my favourite fruits) only bear fruit in Angola between December and January (if you're lucky you can still get some in February still)...and what a treat it is to eat them there at this time... they are absolutely delicious...
I refuse to eat Mango in Portugal because we don't have them growing here, so I'm sure they're all imported (I'm not even going into the carbon print or fair trade issue here, don't worry)... even if they are well frozen and transported, I know it would not be the same taste, because they will have to be picked when they are not fully ripe...
I also don't think it would be practical to travel around the world to different places just to eat the things we wanted (not so good for the ozone layer, and only accessible for rich people)... again we 'd be feeding the same mentality "we want, we get"...
For instance, Mango trees (which is one of my favourite fruits) only bear fruit in Angola between December and January (if you're lucky you can still get some in February still)...and what a treat it is to eat them there at this time... they are absolutely delicious...
I refuse to eat Mango in Portugal because we don't have them growing here, so I'm sure they're all imported (I'm not even going into the carbon print or fair trade issue here, don't worry)... even if they are well frozen and transported, I know it would not be the same taste, because they will have to be picked when they are not fully ripe...
I also don't think it would be practical to travel around the world to different places just to eat the things we wanted (not so good for the ozone layer, and only accessible for rich people)... again we 'd be feeding the same mentality "we want, we get"...
I don't have many chances to go to Angola because it's too expensive for me, and last time I went to visit my parents who live there, 3 years ago, I didn't get any Mango because it was the end of February... I should have planned it better...
But when I go there in season I have a blast of feelings in my mouth with my first bite on my mango... And there are loads of different varieties too...
There are regional and seasonal fruits for a reason :
for regional and seasonal needs...
we have plenty of citrus throughout the winter because our bodies need a lot of vitamin C to resist the seasonal cold and flu...
isn't that perfect?
we have nice melons in the hot summer, because we need extra liquids to keep hydrated and I guess because it also feels nice and refreshing...
Isn't that perfect?
Are you following me still? Sorry for the ramble... I guess I´m just longing to appreciate every little thing in its right moment, in its right season...
for regional and seasonal needs...
we have plenty of citrus throughout the winter because our bodies need a lot of vitamin C to resist the seasonal cold and flu...
isn't that perfect?
we have nice melons in the hot summer, because we need extra liquids to keep hydrated and I guess because it also feels nice and refreshing...
Isn't that perfect?
Are you following me still? Sorry for the ramble... I guess I´m just longing to appreciate every little thing in its right moment, in its right season...
God speaks in the Bible about a tree planted by the river which "bears fruits in its season" (Psalm 1), and we can also read about "the fruits of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22,23)...
We're not always loving,
but when we need Love (to give or receive) God will always give to us...
we're not always joyful,
but real joy can often come in the most miserable times,
we're not always peaceful,
but how good does it feel when that peace
that surpasses all human understanding comes...
We're not always patient,
we want everything NOW,
and we think it´s the best for us...
but how much do we learn and grow
in times when we have to wait and be patient?
we're not always kind, or good to others all the time,
but what a pleasure and fulfilment it gives us
when we exercise that gift...
we're not always faithful
but isn't it amazing how God always trusts in us?
There must be a reason...
eventually God´s faithfulness becomes contagious in us...
we're not always able to control ourselves ,
(probably the hardest of things),
but it's so comforting to Know that the Holy Spirit is in us
and can help us on that too,
bearing that fruit at the right time...
we might not be able to taste every fruit
all at once,
but for each season,
according to our needs (not desires),
God will delight us with the right fruit...
I leave a suggestion if you would like... if you don't have a farm with fruits yourself, find out which are the seasonal fruits in your local area and buy it from the local organic farmers (if there are still farmers around you)... Then enjoy it! and be thankful if you are able to do that... if not, promote some native fruit planting in your area... that could be fun!
5 comments:
Great thoughts Baba =)
Hmmm, Baba,
this time your thoughts were hardly accessible to me. Which might have something to do with my highly technical orientation ;)
I'm grateful towards God for creating a world where all this nice tech stuff is possible, e.g. the Internet. And I'm as well grateful that God invented the Mango tree ... my favourite fruit as well!
But technology is indeed mostly about getting things right now, that is, being in power about the forces of nature (which man was indeed commanded to be ...).
Little thought how to reconcile technology and nature rhythm: self-limitation might be a key (somewhat like that you mentioned in the last paragraphs).
As it's interesting to see that "art" is about voluntary self-limitation, regarding the tools and means of expression we use. This makes me think about creating a "stylish", artful life that way, by not having and mixing everything at all times.
That won't make me keep from eating Mango in Europe, but from "succeeding" in creating an oh-so-comfortable life that I barely feel alive ...
hi matew...thanks for your point of you...I still think you're missing something good :-) (kidding...if you don't miss it, good for you)... but maybe just by you saying my thoughts were hardly accessible to you, it might mean you are missing something :-)...
don't misinterpret me, I'm not a radical extremist who think everything which is not natural is bad... and i don't want to be judgemental nor self righteous... I just think we may be losing some good things with our "progress"...
And hey, I'm using internet right NOW... and I like it as well, to connect and communicate with people faster and more accessible than normal post (I started to use it in Angola actually when the war was still going on and normal post was almost impossible to use)... I'm also grateful that God gave the wisdom to men to create it...but I'm even more thankful and I tend to receive more from the things God created Himself...like fruits :-) like people :-)...
When I was living in the city I often missed nature...and often thought how God created things bring me more close to Him, than men created things... I can't imagine myself saying "computers and internet are filled with Your Glory", as I would easily say it about the Earth :-)... but hey, maybe I'm just limited in my thinking :-)
I try to use technology as another tool to relate with people, being cautious though not to be used by it... ( I know it can happen)
Hmmm, I have my reserves about the command you mentioned..." technology is indeed mostly about getting things right now, that is, being in power about the forces of nature"...
or maybe I'm misinterpreting the way you said it..it makes me picture a man with all power, but with little love for the things around him (sorry, it was just the way I read it)
in different translations in the Bible we can read :
"...Take charge!
Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."
"subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]"
I guess technology is not the major thing about God's command (though we may use it), unless is used in the service of God and man (and all creation I guess)... In my opinion God was commanding us to take care of the earth as best as possible... so when technology (or any other thing we use) steps into that (or the way we use it), we are not taking so much care of the earth, are we ?!!!... we tend to be selfish by our nature and often we use technology to satisfy that... if we speak again about fruits, technology has been developed by many to make agriculture more easy (which I appreciate), but when we let selfishness rule, we are also destroying the natural way of doing it, which have many different bad consequences (showing we're not taking so well care of the planet), like mass production which exhausts the ground, using chemicals which destroy other living beings (which could be helpful to kill the same plagues the chemicals are trying to destroy), etc... some technology makes lots of fruits from the tropics available to us NOW, but how are we taking care of the "tropic" countries so we can have those fruits?!!! How are we taking care of those who pick those fruits for us?!! Hmmm... I wonder about this things you know?!!!
anyway, I'm divagating now, sorry...
thanks for making me think more about this things... And thank God for internet and for the freedom we have to share them with one another :-)
PEACE
I mean "point of view", not "point of you"... it might make sense as well eh, eh, eh
Hi again,
you've added a great plenty of thoughts now, thank you for taking the time and for your refreshing way of thinking! Think I'm just gonna pick out some points ... though it would be fun to discuss all of them in depth.
First, no, I don't think you're extremist or something. I like the sensible way you're running this community, close to nature, but far from the extremist's "rural community" point of view.
It might well be that I miss something good, as you say ... I think I really need to live close to nature for some extended time to find out.
Regarding the command which I verbalized as "being in power about the forces of nature" ... yes, you're right with your rendering of it: that love for God, creatures and creation shall be the driving motivation in all of man's dealings with nature.
I think that our views supplement each other ... in a way that could perhaps be simplified (!!) as yours being the female point (caring for, nurturing) and my the male point (constructing, sometimes fighting with nature).
Constructing can be done out of love ... I know some basic things about physics, and from this I marvel that God created a world that is soooooo awfully rich, as to even include the possibility of inventions (... and I knew that you like the Internet :-) ).
But fighting with nature out of love? Let me explain. I don't really know how the earth looked like before the fall of man, but I think that it's too simple to think of the whole world as a paradise. Eden was a garden that was planted by God, but the earth that should be filled by mankind was no garden yet ... . There might have been deserts, artic regions, oceans with isles, etc. ... environments where man would have to fight to settle there.
Now there's an element within the male nature that thinks it's great fun to fight through here. Ideally, that would have been out of love for God, in the sense of being thankful that he created humans strong and clever enough to master the harsh attributes of nature. And in the sense that all this "mastering" belongs to "being the image of God" ... as God is the Almighty, All-powerful, master of all reality, and man represents such a position within the world as "his own universe". (And this way, might learn to understand God somewhat, and the way he uses all his power in great love.) And this "fighting" would also have been out of love for family, neigbours and society, as something that's a service to them.
Now these are jus' some quick thoughts ... never expressed them before, but your comment made me think about this. I might err in many points ... so you might take just the basic idea. Which is that I feel, God's thoughts with creating the world are reeeeally complex, much deeper than we ever dreamed of ... .
Blessings & Peace!
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