Near the beginning of my chapter into mindful living I went
to a workshop on meditation. I wanted to make sure I was doing it right, which
is funny because one of the very first things you learn is that you can’t do it
wrong. None the less I wanted some ‘professional’ insight. I went, I listened,
I shared. I ate a raisin; the instructor coaching us through the process in
infinitesimal steps of total awareness. Eating the raisin took 15 minutes. It was the single
best raisin I have eaten in my entire life…ever! It was so good - one raisin was enough.
It was an incredible little exercise that left me feeling
very sad for all the thousands of raisins I’ve eaten in my life and not tasted.
Raisins have never been the same.
I’ve been thinking a lot about that raisin lately, mostly
because we’ve reached that glorious time of year when oranges are sunshiny
globes of pure perfection. While it’s rare to find an exceptional orange in say…
September, it is equally difficult to get a bad one right now. I’m in orange
heaven!
A meditation teaching of Thich Nhat Hanh reminds me of that
raisin each time I reach for an orange. Thich Nhat Hanh teaches a gathering of
children with a basket of tangerines that eating is an exceptional opportunity
to practice some mindfulness.
If you’re not in a hurry, let’s eat an orange. If you are in
a hurry, stop hurrying...let’s eat an orange.
Begin by choosing your perfect orange, from the grocers
counter, your counter fruit bowl or your co-worker’s lunch bag.
Why did you select that particular orange?
Feel the weight of your orange, does it feel heavy and promising,
filled with juice? Does it sound hollow when you bounce it up in the air and
let it thud back into your palm? Run your fingers over the waxy surface and check your hands
for the glittery oils that rub off and stick to your skin. Are there any
blemishes or scars on your orange? Is it a deep colour or pale?
Turn your orange about in your hand. Can you see where it
was once attached to its tree? Can you imagine the rains and sunshine being
soaked in though the tree’s delicate green leaves and travelling through its
intricate system of roots and branches to reach a single blossom? Can you
imagine that the tree turns that rain and sunshine into fruit for you to enjoy.
How hard the tree works against weather, pests and disease to do nothing beyond
nurturing your orange.
A tree does not think
“I must grow an orange.” It just does. An orange tree does not endeavour to be
anything other than an orange tree. It does not wake up in the morning and
question its purpose and wonder if it should be growing apples. It just puts
all of its effort into growing an orange. We can learn a great deal from an
orange tree.
Lift your orange to your nose. Breathe in the fresh bright
scent. Close your eyes, can you see the sunshine?
Break through the nubby textured skin. Did you see the oils
spray into the air around the puncture? Can you smell anything beyond the bold
citrus scent released by that single action? You cannot eat an orange in secret
like you can a chocolate bar.
Beneath the firm shiny covering lays that creamy yellow
layer of pith welded to the fruit. I will pick for a lifetime to remove every
veiny strand of its bitterness. At the very best oranges have peels that are
thick and spongy and keep every ounce of juice from evaporating through the
skin.
Break the peeled orange into segments. Do you do this all at
once or peel each one off when it is time to be eaten? The membrane that covers
each segment is smooth and dries out quickly. If you break a segment open you
may find a seed. You are certain to find the wedge packed with teeny tiny
droplets of orange juice. They pop with barely a pressure.
That first bite….
....is always a surprise no matter how many
oranges you eat in your lifetime. That first bite sucks all of the saliva out
of your cheeks and makes you pucker quickly before replacing it with sweet,
tangy rivulets of sunshine and rain sweetened with time and the attention of
nature’s simple efforts.
Nothing else on earth tastes like an orange. No other orange
on earth taste like this one.
An orange eaten this way becomes more than fuel. An orange
eaten this way becomes a tiny orange vacation.
I'll be enjoying as many 'vacations' as my body can tolerate over the coming weeks. Then it's back to raisins.
Enjoy!
Love
M
