This morning I ate a fruit salad as part of my breakfast. There were eight or nine different types of fruit, all in a prime state of ripeness. As I ate, I noticed that I was ranking the fruit: comparing the pleasure given by one against another; deciding which was my favourite and which my least favourite. It was not long before the complete order of preference had been determined.
Catching myself making these comparisons, judging the relative merits of the various fruits, I felt a twinge of regret. Inevitably there were winners and losers in my assessment. But I also knew that each of the fruits was probably delicious in its own right. So I stopped comparing. I ate one piece of fruit at a time, slowly, with my full attention, not comparing it to my memories of other tastes. And as I had guessed, every piece of fruit was simply delicious, a treasure for my taste buds.
I wonder to what extent I make such comparisons in the rest of my life. How much richer and more delicious life would feel if I could drop the comparisons altogether!
