Life Lessons From A Fruit Tree
The following is a written reflection, recorded shortly after a 2-hour ‘fruit-picking’ experience at the Italian home of Francesca Pedullá and Frey Faust in late May of 2024. It was a mulberry tree (a big one!) and our ‘higher purpose’ was to make mulberry jam...
I started with the closest, lower down branches, searching (as instructed) for the more rosy-coloured ones. These would be more ripe, juicy and delicious, and therefore most suited for the jam. The problem - or rather ‘inquiry’ - was what actually constituted ‘pink’. Some were on their way up the spectrum but still rather white; others so pink they were more of a reddy-brown.
Lesson no.1 - We (not even our fruits) will ever fit perfectly inside of a box, be it a colour, flavour, religion, belief or other term. We might adjust our shade or collage of colours, but the perfect pink really only exists in ancient myths and children’s stories.
I picked according to what constituted the ‘middle range’ or rather ‘the goldilocks zone’ - not too white, not too brown. Besides, the bees seemed to be enjoying the browner ones the most and, as for the whites, well... they had time on their side. Next week’s apple and mulberry crumble might soon be their (rather delicious) destiny.
I kept selecting from a long set of low branches on one side. Soon I became aware that this specific side was quickly getting more and more bare, whilst the other sides remained overflowing with fruit. I felt a sense of guilt, or even harm, at this thought. “Perhaps I should pick equally from all sides, as well as from the higher branches too”. This way ‘universal harmony’ might be restored - as if such a thing was even possible.
As I paused to switch branches however, I was overwhelmed by the impossibility of my new objective. The branches were way too complex, curved and chaotic to get any measured sense of equality. I laughed a little at myself for my ambition and hopeless (sort of) ethics.
Lesson no.2 - Perfect harmony (or ‘balance’) within an organism or environment is always an illusion; an unrealistic ‘dream’. The law of Nature is to change, deviate, grow in complexity. Even attempting to understand the complexities of the number of fruits spread out across a single tree is rather fruitless (pardon the pun).
In the end I simply waited until the ripest fruits ran dry, then moved randomly to the next abundant (low) branch I came across. What a pleasure it was to arrive at abundance! To fill an entire handful of pink, juicy berries in a matter of seconds. Of course I had to eat a few as I went; just to check they weren’t poisonous. An act of service towards my generous hosts.
Lesson no.3 - Life is an ‘all you can eat’ buffet. We needn’t feel guilty or too reserved if and when we find ourselves surrounded by the world’s most delightful gifts (fruits, people, music, poetry).
Eventually I felt inspired and curious enough to explore the higher branches, courtesy of a metal ladder. Again the berries were aplenty, if a little awkwardly placed among the maze of leaves and branches. To be honest though: I didn’t enjoy the reaching, the trying and the balancing necessary to gather more handfuls. I felt a bit of a diva as my mind-body complained at the extra dexterity now required to gather, and so carried on for another 10 or so minutes, hoping to adjust to the extra challenge.
The picking was slow. I had to keep adjusting the ladder, dodging small, twisted branches, reaching down to the bowl and safely up again, continuously. Eventually I came down safely, to take a rest and reassess the situation.
Were the berries worth the trying and the stress? Perhaps if I was starving...
And if I wasn’t...? (I most definitely wasn’t)
Then maybe not...
Lesson no.4 - There is nothing noble about needless suffering; little good ever comes from it.
Things proceeded well in this way. The bucket was getting filled. I was being pulled as if a puppet on a string; one branch was inspiring my attention, then another, then another. A large, fresh cluster of berries would always emerge, somehow, somewhere. I’d spend long enough to answer the call then move intuitively onto the next.
To an outsider I may have appeared disciplined, thorough, even stoic; especially as time wore on. My experience was rather spontaneous, even indulgent, however. Even the smell of the berries began to guide my movements; the sickly caramel smell signifying a berry bursting with flavour and ripeness - about to turn bad even, if not enjoyed soon enough.
Lesson no.5 - All extremities are illusions of reality (hot and cold, discipline and freedom, control and surrender etc). Actually, everything is always somewhere along a spectrum.
Always, it seemed, I couldn’t help but to surf the wave of that middle place somewhere in between. It was a thin line, a dance, a razor’s edge, to be truly ‘aware’ whilst fruit-picking, and to feel balanced and content in myself, as well as being useful.
Needless to say, the fruit-picking dance reached its inevitable climax. I wanted to do a thorough job with all of such tasks at the farm; perhaps I even wanted to ‘impress’ Frey and Francesca with my work ethic. I tried to catch myself in such moments however; to take a rest, recover and reassess. This time my bowl was (literally) full - even overflowing with sweet, delicious mulberries. The journey was over. We had more than enough for Frey’s jam so I called it a day, excited to enjoy whatever resulted from my work.
Lesson no.6 - Everything comes to an end. The final silence is an intimate and valuable part of the song. The recovery IS the work. The destination IS the journey.
I walked past the mulberry tree for several days after. Every time I felt a part of it somehow, despite spending just 2 hours in its ‘arms’. How Frey must have felt after years of pruning, feeding, communicating with his dozen or so fruit trees!?... It’s a question I’d like to be able to answer for myself one day. For now though, becoming friends with Mulberry was more than enough, and I’m grateful for everything that it taught me...
*Written for and published in ReMo Magazine Issue 7 and the Axis Syllabus Periodical…
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