Bounty in a Fruit Bowl

I’m of the opinion that a bowl of fresh fruit is a beautiful centerpiece on a dining table, much like a flower arrangement.

It would have been wonderful if the fruit featured in the bowl came from our very own garden, or at least, if we picked it with our own hands straight off a tree, but the truth is, all the fruit in the picture came from the grocery store, which brings me to the concept of bounty in the seemingly mundane.

Our post today is about noticing beauty and bounty all around us, accessible and available in the ordinary and simple things which we often take as a given. And because I find fruit inherently symbolic of the concept of bounty, what with its ripeness, freshness, fruity fragrance, and variety of colors, this post is indeed centered on this natural staple. I do, however, encourage you to think of our fruit bowl as one example among many of how bounty is expressed in our day-to-day life.

The fresh fruit aisle in the grocery store is another perfect illustration of this concept. What an enchanting place, abundant with Nature’s treats: luscious plums, crunchy apples, succulent grapes, creamy bananas, and juicy oranges – all naturally sweet and the emblem of a living food; all courtesy of the trio of soil, sun, and water.

And if that’s not impressive enough, shall we explore this bounty further by making something with our fruit? The options abound, exquisite and flavorful: Shall we cut them up into a salad? Freeze them into an ice cream or mash them into a purée? Shall we add them to water? Cook them down into a compote? Squeeze them into juice or blend them in a smoothie?

Our quest for bounty does not end here, though.

Our ‘fruit for thought’ today will be to open our eyes as well as our minds to the bounty in the ordinary, especially that which we may not have noticed before but which still, has always been there.

By Didi Gorman