One more raspberry story:
This is Bella.
She belongs to my friend Jane.
Bella lives for raspberry season.
She goes out into the backyard and blissfully consumes all the low-hanging raspberries directly from the bush.
Every time I look at this picture of Bella, I think of the story that Pema Chodron tells about the woman being chased by tigers.
So: the woman is running and the tigers are chasing her.
The woman comes to a cliff.
She climbs down the cliff.
She is holding on to a branch.
She looks down and sees that there are tigers below her.
She looks up and sees that there are tigers above her.
And she also notices that there is a mouse.
The mouse is gnawing on the branch the woman is clinging to.
And then the woman sees that there is a strawberry growing on the side of the cliff.
What does she do?
The woman picks the strawberry and eats it.
The tigers are above and below her.
The mouse is gnawing away on the branch.
But still–the strawberry is so sweet.
The strawberry (or the raspberry) is the moment.
It’s all we have.
So: be like Bella. Be with the berry.

Reactions: 450
Comments: 27

Original Post