Blueberries are ripe in the South right now, so I spend about 1/2 hour each morning in picking mode which is as close to meditation, contemplation and prayer I can get most days. There is something intimately personal about spending this time with my plants, the harvest I get, the joy and nutrition each berry brings my family. I must confess that while I pick 2-4 cups of berries a day, I have not frozen any this year or made any jelly. Something I know I will regret come winter time. But for now, they are here and the cycle of the times tells me that we need this food now to balance the colds we are fighting, to cool us off internally while it is so hot externally, and to provide us with that little burst of energy and excitement.
While I am picking I get to do a lot of thinking. The boys will sometimes come with me, but they are afraid of the bees that inhabit the orchard so I usually am by myself. I also find natural processes to be extremely helpful for me when I am trying to make sense of a world that feels artificial and reinvented by the market. Here are some of the reflections that have come to mind while harvesting:
1. Not all berries become ripe at the same time. This is a good thing for us or the goodness would last only a little while. It is also how kids/my students/adults develop. We are not all on the same pace and that is OK. It is natural. I don't fret about the blueberries that are still green, I know they will ripen over time, and fortunately I have plenty of blue ones to enjoy while I wait.
2. You must have a variety of blueberries growing close to each other because bushes cannot self-pollinate with their own variety. One, plants don't even like to inbreed, and two variety is necessary for propagation. It fuels the natural world and without it life would be sparse to non-existent. Unfortunately in this day in age of infotainment "news cycles" variety and differences are shunned, shamed and looked at with trepidation. Imagine if my blueberry bushes asked about politics, religion or sports before agreeing to pollinate. Come on people if a blueberry bush can recognize its interdependence on differences than I think we can probably do the same. Turn off the "news" go outside your comfort zone and go make friends with someone who is not like you, who knows something sweet might come out of the moment.
3. For goodness sake be patient. An unripe blueberry is an abomination. It is hard to believe that something so good in its ripe form can be so nasty when it is not ready. You can't rush a blueberry into ripening (trust me I have tried) just like so many other things in life. I love the Homer Simpson quote "isn't there anything faster than a microwave?" I was raised by an engineer (efficiency is everything) and a mother who could get more work done in one day than most people could get done in a year. The bar was high, and waiting for good things to come in their own time was not something that was part of my vernacular. Just like forcing a job, a relationship, a milestone, a house, a baby, an adoption, summer to come, summer to leave. Ripening into something wonderful takes time and it is worth the wait and there is not a darn thing I can or should do to speed it up.
4. The hardest blueberries to pick usually end up being the best. I will admit, I will go and pick the low hanging fruit every day, the stuff on the edge, the stuff in the middle, the bushes that don't have the thorny vines. I am deathly allergic to bees so squeezing in between bushes makes me nervous, and like most logical people, I don't like being scratched by thorns. But, the inconvenience to the high, low and hard to reach berries is a forced patience that allows ripening beyond to perfection. This is also true in life. Yes, there are many things that are hard that we will be asked to do, challenged, called to complete. Most of us will start with the easy list, but blueberries and adopting has taught me that the hard stuff is definitely worth getting, even if it means risking getting stung, or pricked by thorns, or months overseas.
5. Some berries will go to the birds. No matter how diligent I am in my attempts to harvest and use each and every berry, some will not make it into the mouths of my family. These are the dream berries, the wishes that were not meant to be. They are not failures or losses to the world. The birds love them, they need them too and goodness knows the world needs birds and dreams. If the thought or idea was good enough to exist then give it to the world even if it can't be yours. Someone or something will appreciate it.
6. On the flip side, harvest I must, if I want berries next year. If you allow the fruit of a tree of bush to all fall to the ground and nothing eats it before it rots near the roots, the tree or bush will not produce as much food the next year. It knows that its energy was wasted, not needed. When we let our thoughts die and rot, or be ignored our brain stops as well. We have to find time in this superficial world to dig deep, think deep and act fully and presently. Our brains are not stupid and they operate on the engineering principal that "a glass is not 1/2 full or 1/2 empty, but twice as large as it needs to be." Use it or lose it.
Fortunately for me, the decisions my brain will get to make about my blueberries will be very concrete and attainable. What do I make with them? Muffins, scones, pancakes, preserves, frozen yogurt blueberries or just enjoy them raw in their perfect form as nature gave them to the world.
Oh wait, the decision has been made, they have all been eaten for the day one berry at a time, one trip to the kitchen at a time, one precious berry at a time.
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