Accepting The Imperfections In Life

I was talking to a new-found friend at the retreat last weekend. We were talking about what I do and she mentioned that she had ordered from a similar type of business down in Brisbane a while back. She told me how much she loved receiving her boxes, but that after a few weeks she found that some of the produce wasn’t good quality in her box so she stopped ordering. I don’t know where it came from but I couldn’t help but blurt out in despair. ‘Give them another chance!’ I literally wailed… because I know what it’s like to be on the other side of that business and I know about the challenges they face.

Supplying fruit and veg isn’t like supplying packaged groceries with a use by date or non-perishable items… so much can and does go wrong. Everything that goes in the boxes is in the cycle of nature. It’s either just coming into season so maybe it looks great but the taste hasn’t fully developed yet, or it’s a bit on the small size (but expensive). It may be well and truly in season (this is my favourite time) so it’s bursting with flavour, great value and available in abundant quantities. At the end of the season you might find that produce once again gets a little smaller, and quality can drop a little bit as the heat or cold weather sets in and affects it, and maybe it’s available on some weeks and not the other as supply drops.

That’s just the nature of fresh produce. Nope, sorry to tell you, the supermarket shelves are not a true reflection of what’s going on outside those bright fluro lights and air conditioned comfort.
Its ups and downs, it's drought and un-expected weather events that hit you side-ways, its plagues of bugs that swoop in before the farmer can get picking, its supply and demand and trying to share what there is with everyone who wants it, it's logistics and travel and lots of organisation. It’s all those things and more, and if we can’t get our heads around that, we’ll always be disappointed.

No caring business owner sets out to supply you with a produce item they think you’ll be disappointed with, but when it comes to fruit and veg there are so many other factors to contend with that it’s just not realistic to expect perfection Every.Single.Day.

My favourite customers, the ones that are in my tribe (and surprisingly there are many of you out there!), are the ones that can accept and take the good with the bad. They are the ones that see a blemish and think ‘I can cut that bit out’, the ones that taste the absolute sweetness of an in season pineapple and know that it’s something to be cherished. They are the ones that know that by not expecting perfection in everything, life runs more smoothly and everyone is happier. You. Me. The planet. They live a life of ease and happiness, and I just love their non-judgmental outlook on life, which always goes so much further than just how they perceive what’s in their box.

If you’re still not convinced, take an apple with a blemish- cut it out, blindfold yourself and see if you can taste the difference. We all know there is no difference. Try it on your kids- teach them about accepting produce for all it is. It's our job to show them how to see the beauty in everything, how to love and accept all that nature has to provide, in whatever shape or form it comes in.

There is just so much waste in this world. Focus on contributing to a brighter future for all. Where the energy taken to grow our food is respected and cherished. Take a stand and ditch everything that supermarkets have taught us to expect, instead start accepting the realities in life. It will create beautiful ripples of change, I promise!

Big Love
Celine
xxx