Life lessons from an evening of Raspberry picking.
My kids and I went raspberry picking last week. It’s one of our much-loved summer rituals. But this time it was different. Not only did we pick the most raspberries ever (7 lbs!), we also picked up some beautiful life lessons along the way.
Everyone always starts with an empty bucket.
Upon reaching the farm, my kids and I were given buckets to start picking. I got the biggest size, a bit more than a gallon, and the kids got smaller ones. As we commenced our picking in the intoxicatingly fragrant fields, we were excited, but also, truthfully, overwhelmed. Raspberries are tiny, and as we found out very soon, more make their way into your tummy than into the bucket! We were eating some and picking some, struggling to fill even the floors of our buckets, when we heard another ‘picker’ announce to his friend that he had filled his whole bucket. Wow! And that’s when it struck me - we all start off with an empty bucket, in life as well. The secret to filling it is to keep going, keep persisting, and soon enough, you will have your very own filled bucket! Just like we did 2.5 hours later! 😅
If you fail, start over.
My 7-year-old was putting more raspberries in his tummy than in his bucket! So it took him a long time to fill his bucket to about a third. And then, the inevitable happened. He accidentally tipped his bucket and lost most of his berries. I held my breath, thinking there would be a meltdown. But, no, he just kept calm and carried on, putting more berries into his bucket than his tummy this time! And I think I know why.
Enjoy the journey; take your time to truly appreciate it.
Yes, we have all heard this saying countless times. But how often have you actually done so? My son did while picking raspberries. He was in no rush to fill his bucket. He was loving the experience - popping sweet plump berries into his mouth right off the bush (no washing needed!), wading through the maze of bushes, exploring on his own and stumbling upon some strawberry-lemonade berries(!), listening to the sound of a train passing by, talking, telling stories, watching the golden sunset in silence and awe…That’s why he wasn’t upset when his bucket had tipped. The experience was so beautiful and magical that he didn’t mind doing it all over again. He was there for the experience, the journey. The destination was just a nice-to-have.
Stay humble and be blessed.
You know the secret to hitting the ‘jackpot’ when picking berries? Bend down, squat. The best berries and the biggest clusters of them are always low to the ground. Most people miss them because they are picking from the top. But if you get down low to the ground, you will hit the jackpot. Just like in life, humility yields the biggest blessings. Those who are humble and kind are often also the most blessed and blissful of souls.
The world is Abundant.
There were quite a few families picking berries that evening. Each family would choose a row to start picking berries from and then comb through the bushes on both sides of the row. We would pick through the bushes slowly and carefully, picking all the ripe berries we spotted. After which, we would move on to another row. As we moved onto new rows, other families would make their way to the row we just picked from, and I would think, ‘How are they going to find anything? We just picked every ripe berry there!’ But lo and behold, they would always find enough to fill their buckets. That’s when I realized how abundant the world was, how abundant Mother Nature truly is. Mother Nature takes care to display and hide her gifts in such a way that all her benefactors (humans, bugs, animals, etc) can enjoy them. There is no need to rush to claim everything. There will always be enough for all of us.
