The story of a pear

I received a pear in a lunch box last week, but I didn't eat it. It seemed too under-ripe and my belly felt too full. I held on to it because it seemed like such a waste to just throw away.

For over a week it sat, invoking vague feelings of guilt for not eating it and worry that it would go to waste. How often does fruit feel that way - purchased out of a sense of "trying to be more healthy" and then left on the counter or in the crisper for a long time until (far too frequently) it's thrown out? This one was a particularly boring-looking pear. Nothing terrible about it - just a few minor imperfections, a bit lumpy-looking. It didn't seem to promise much.

So I decided to take a second look. Today, it felt like it was finally ripe enough to eat. I thought about where the pear may have come from and how far it traveled. I decided to view it as a gift. While I washed it, I felt present with the weight of it in my hand. I paid attention to the give of the knife as I sliced it into four pieces. Then, I lifted it slowly to my mouth and focused on just experiencing this fruit, as it was. Sweet or bland, juicy or mealy.

And it was very sweet, very juicy and perfectly ripe and light-tasting. Exactly what a pear should be. I was able to really pay attention for what I believe was about 30 seconds. 30 seconds of really focused attention like that is a great treasure in life!

Well, before I get into too much "brag" mode... while I was still consuming the pear I did totally lose my attention and got thinking about a myriad of other unrelated things. Hey, I'm a work in progress!

Perhaps I, and all of us, are not so much different from the pear. Nothing special, necessarily, but YES, something wonderful. Let's take second looks at each other, and see that we, like the pear, share a sacred place in the miracle of existence.