The Sour Apple Orchard

Mary and Bill were overwhelmed when they heard the news. The seller accepted their offer on the 100-year-old New England farmhouse. They enjoyed fixer-uppers, and this would keep them busy for quite a while. The old house and surrounding 10 acres were perfect for their plans to live a new life far away from the big city. They imagined long, chilly walks along picturesque country roads followed by a cup of hot apple cider from their orchard while they watched the sun set over the mountains. They were romantics, and this place would fulfill all their romantic rural dreams. Well, all except one!

 

Soon after the sale was closed, Bill and Mary walked around their property. They saw deer and squirrels playing among the trees. They crossed a small brook that was still flowing despite it being late September. When they came upon the Apple Orchard, they saw that the trees were heavy with fruit. No one had picked them, and the birds and other critters were getting their fill. They chose a couple of lovely, round apples and rinsed them in the stream. With great expectations, they both took large bites. The experience registered immediately on their faces.

 

"Wow, that's sour!" proclaimed Mary. "Did I get a bad one?"

 

Bill replied, "We must have gotten two of them!"

 

They had just taken a bite of the most tart and sour apple they had ever tasted. "Are these apples?" wondered Bill.  

 

As they walked back, they were deeply disappointed and talked about what to do with an orchard full of sour apples. The best solutions seemed to be firewood and replanting. They shook their heads and tossed the apples into the orchard for the squirrels to finish.

 

The next day they went into town to buy a chain saw. They told the salesman at the hardware store that they needed a saw big enough to cut down trees. At the checkout, the salesman asked, "What are you going to do with it?" When Bill told him, the look on his face startled them. The salesman's disbelief betrayed that he was trying to process what he had just heard.

 

He replied, "That old orchard is quite the legend around here. It produces some of the best cider and apple pies in the county. The previous owners won more than a few blue ribbons at the county fair."

 

It was Mary and Bill's turn to try and process what they had just heard. All she could say was, "But they are so tart!" 

 

The salesman responded, "That is what makes them so special. Those trees came from Virginia. They are full of flavor, but you have to know how to work with them."

 

Bill and Mary shook their heads. When they left the store, they took their saw, fully expecting to start taking down those sour apple trees the following weekend. But the words of the salesman were eating away at their resolve. 

 

When they returned to the farmhouse, Mary went on the internet and discovered that the salesman was right. The orchard was an award-winning orchard and a little-known variety called Stayman. It was a super tart variety with a deep flavor profile. As she read about them, she began to have a much deeper respect for that old grove of sour apples and the community that celebrated it. Gradually she came around to thinking that she would continue the legacy and perhaps polish it up a bit on her own. She thought to herself, "There was always the State Fair!"

 

When we think about eternity, we generally focus on the length of time or a life. But eternal is not just one dimension. It is the infinite applied to the human experience and includes the breadth and depth of life. If we are to respect life, we must listen carefully to all its dimensions. We need to embrace the width of it and celebrate the prickly and the smooth, the comforting and the disconcerting. We also need to savor its depth and its many complex flavors. We need to appreciate the sour and the sweet, the bitter and the salty.  

 

Once we set aside our expectations of what life should be, it begins to blossom.   We dare to hope for the future. Our daily living builds a legacy beyond our daily employment or moment-by-moment achievements. We become more than what we do. Our eyes, ears, heart, and mind are open to life. We develop a healthy respect for the fullness of life that surrounds us. We celebrate the eternity that holds us and stretches out behind, around, and before us. In the process, we enter a future opening to new possibilities. Hope abounds! As Mary said to Bill, "It's time to go pick some sour apples!"

Hal's Celebrated Ignorance

Today we will listen in on a climate change panel discussion with Nate and Hal. Nate worked for the oil and gas industry while Hal was a professor at the local university. Both were experts in climate change, and both had plenty of credentials. One was a Naked Expert, and the other was an Enlightened Fool. 

Nate, the Naked Expert, was up first. He spoke as one clothed in deep wisdom and insights. He carried himself with great authority. Every phrase dripped with syrupy certainty that betrayed a more profound yet unspoken caldron of doubt. He proclaimed that the oil and gas industry was not only aware of the changing climate but did not believe it was due to their products. He extolled the industry's efforts to limit the consequences of purely natural climate change.   But the audience, at least most of us, saw that he was wearing very little data beyond his assumptions and offered a very tenuous and narrow line of argument. The Expert had no clothes.

 

Naked Experts know what they know but are oblivious to what they do not know. This ignorance encourages them to believe they know everything.   But they are driven by their assumptions and choose data that supports them. Self-interest, not self-reflection, is the primary source of their opinions.

 

After the Naked Expert sat down, Hal, the Enlightened Fool, stood up and spoke quietly and calmly. He began with, "I wish I could be as certain as my colleague. Everything I am about to tell you is true, so far as I know. But I know myself too well. I may be wrong. I don't think I am, but I will leave that up to you. You see, I approach my job as a meteorologist as an "Enlightened Fool."  I am still learning, and the planet has much to teach me."

 

He then laid out his reasoning for believing that climate change was natural but that human activity was accelerating its effects on our environment. He then argued that we could slow it down and suggested ways to allow us more time to adapt to the changes in the climate cycle. He offered exciting ideas and insights with a beautiful mix of humility and precision. It was easy to trust him because he pointed out his bias and allowed the audience to weigh his arguments without using his "verbal thumb" to tip the scale. After his presentation, the audience gave him a lively round of applause.

 

The Enlightened Fool knows what they know and knows what they don't know!   Hal preferred being an Enlightened Fool who is, at least, partially clothed with the facts. Hal was not afraid of his ignorance. He celebrated his ignorance because it offered a light through the great mystery that spread out before him. Hal's enlightened foolishness led him to be intensely curious. 

 

Hal denied being an expert. He was an informed and disciplined student of the field. Hal did not want to become stranded in the quicksand of his cliches and tired answers. This Enlightened Fool longed to walk barefoot through fields of surprises and new experiences, to seek the joy of mystery and wonder, even if he occasionally stepped in a pile of BS among the flowers. Along the way, Hal gained some wisdom but still had more questions than answers. He delighted in his questions because they provided directions for his future journeys. 

 

We could see that as he came to know himself as an enlightened fool, he found more joy in the ordinary, everyday mysteries surrounding him. And that joy was infectious. We all came down with a good case of enlightened foolishness that day!  

 

When it came time for questions, the hands shot up with questions for Hal. Nate would try and butt in, but the audience was uninterested in his opinions. We loved Hal's questions and musings. And he invited the rest of us to ask questions that invited us into our own mystery and ignorance. We discovered Hal's joy in peering into the great chasm of mystery and caught a glimpse of the wonder and awe that lay before us.

 

Yep, we all learned something important that day. We discovered that the world is a constant source of delight for those brave enough to become enlightened fools!

Dan Joins the Bowling Team

The five men had been bowling together for years. They were one of the inaugural teams in the Civic League that bowled every Thursday night. Over the years, they had won their share of trophies and cash. But they had also had plenty of years when they placed out of both. But they enjoyed being together and playing together as a team. They learned to count on each other and knew what each could and could not do. They cheered and urged each other to roll their best game. Mostly, they had learned to bounce back from defeats and enjoyed playing the game, win or lose.

 

Tonight, however, they feared that much of that was going to come to an end. Earlier in the week, they had heard that Phil had a major back surgery, and his doctor had advised him to give up bowling. Tonight, they had a new team member, Dan. He was a friend of Phil's and came with great creds. He was a consistent bowler but did not have as high an average as Phil. But since this was a handicap league, that was not a significant problem. The other four were not concerned about his bowling so much as they were about how he would fit in. After all these years, they were not sure they would be able to recover the magic of the old days.

 

After all the introductions, they took their practice shots on each lane. When Dan took his place on the approach, the other four sets of eyes were fixed on him. As he made his approach and released the ball, they were relieved that he had a graceful hook that found the pocket. There was a good mix as all the pins were swept off the lanes by the strike. They breathed a bit easier as he moved to the other lane for his second ball.

 

Once again, they watched as he paused before releasing his ball into the same gentle hook that found the pocket. Unfortunately, the ten-pin refused to yield. Everyone knew that a solid ten was part of the game, so they took a breath and watched how Dan reacted. They were relieved when Dan turned around and smiled. He was not upset. He shrugged and said, "It was a little heavy in the pocket. Gonna have to move out by a board on this lane."  He then lined up to the far left, approached the foul line with ease, and gently released the ball. They were pleased to see it travel across the lane and run down the last two boards, hitting the pin dead center for the spare.

 

"Good shot!"  "Looks like you have done that before!"  "You nailed it!"

 

Dan replied smiling, "Thanks, I don't get mad; I get even!"  The rest smiled with him. 

 

After this, the guys had a good idea that Dan would work out just fine. Over the next few weeks, he had to endure their teasing and listen to all kinds of Phil stories. But he took it all in stride. You see, he loved playing the game too. And these guys were good companions. In time, trust developed as they learned what Phil could do well and where he needed help. Phil also picked up on his teammate's strengths and weaknesses. They would celebrate their victories and commiserate their losses without blame or ill-will. They bounced back. They commented on how the lanes changed during the night and helped each other find their mark with each roll. Yep, they were a team, a whole team. When Phil would drop by to visit, everyone was glad to see him. But they all saw Dan as a part of a team, not Phil's replacement. They trusted him, and he trusted them with every Thursday night and every frame of every game.

 

If trust can develop in a community, the ups and downs can be endured with resilience. No blaming or second-guessing is welcome or wanted. They are in it together and know that, together, they will enjoy the journey. Good rolling!

Grandma's Hugs

The toddlers were having fun. Most were screaming at the top of their lungs to be heard over the others who were also screaming. The room was filled with running, jumping, laughing children who would be entirely out of control to anyone else's eyes. Anyone else would have walked in and laid down the laws. "No screaming! No jumping! No Running!"  But, this group of children was very fortunate. Instead of a Latter-day Moses, they saw Grandma walk into the room.

 

The room was soon hushed so that every child could hear Grandma. Grandma walked in, sat in one of the tiny chairs in the middle of the room, and reached out with her "Grandma Hugs."  The children were soon gathered around her, waiting for their hug. With every hug came words like, "Good morning, my little blessing!"  In return, every child knew that they were loved beyond measure by someone they loved.

 

What was so special about Grandma?

 

Well, first, she was old. She had lived with herself long enough to have very few false notions of who she was or what she believed. In fact, she knew herself so well that she did not see herself as anything special and would be embarrassed if I shared her name. She was not special to herself, but she was to everyone else.

 

Second, she genuinely loved children. She drew her energy from being around them. She loved how they thought and talked. She celebrated their innocence and spontaneity. She reveled in their curiosity, especially when they helped her see things through their clear, child-like eyes. They were not yet tainted by the horrors of modern life. They were immune from racism, etc. She drew her life's breath from their honesty and eagerness to explore where most adults no longer journeyed out of fear. She loved her children and made sure they knew it every time she was with them.

 

Lastly, Grandma knew herself far too well to believe she was anything other than who she was. She had let go of many of the things that tormented her soul. Grandma no longer desired to be rich and famous. She was comfortable and had plenty of friends and family around her, and no longer needed to compete with anyone. She was comfortable in her own soul and enjoyed other people too much to put them down or defeat them. Grandma was thrilled being Grandma and had no need to be anyone else. 

 

This boils down to saying that Grandma had discovered the secret to love, humility. She knew herself, just as she was, and accepted what she saw. Grandma had room in her soul to let others share her attention and find shelter in her arms. Humility was not about discounting oneself. It is not about seeing herself as less than who she was. Nor was it about not seeing herself as more than she was. She was content being a loving, caring Grandma to a bunch of loud, boisterous children who needed something that she had been given in abundance, love.

 

Grandma knew that love abides in an atmosphere of humility. And she would not want to give that up for any amount of gold or fame. She enjoyed the children's hugs more than they enjoyed her hugs. Grandma's hugs kept her alive. And as long as those children are alive, the memory of her hugs will keep her alive each time they hug their own children or grandchildren. 

 

Yes, this is a true story. Grandma, you live on whenever one of your children offers their version of a grandma hug. RIP Grandma; while you may be missed, you will never be forgotten.