'Take for Granted' Meaning While Living In Abundance

On Saturday morning I went to the farmers' market. Buying the usual weekly supply of fruits and vegetables, my last stop was at the pretty Chinese lady's stand where I was buying pounds and pounds of persimmons for the last few weeks. She was smiling at me as usually, recognizing my face and welcoming my interest in this extraordinary fruit, often referred to by Greeks as the 'food of the Gods' or 'kaki' in Japan.

While I was loading the fruits that looked the most ripe to me, the Chinese lady told me that the persimmons were now out of season and that this was one of the last days she was still selling them. I wasn't happy about hearing that. I got so used to have an abundance of persimmons on my kitchen counter week after week that I almost forgot that soon they wouldn't be available any more.

It has to be the nature of the human (or our ego) that we so easily take for granted everything that's available to us in bounty. We forget to be grateful (without even noticing it) and the biggest flaw is - we cease to enjoy all the plentiful goodies!

That is a shame because the persimmons aren't less sweet because I bought a few pounds of the ripe-tomato-like looking crop instead of a single fruit, and their nutrition value doesn't change with quantity available, either.

At first sight bad news about the fast approaching end of the season for one of my favorite treats, became unexpectedly a very beneficial reminder. When I started eating my first kaki this morning, I suddenly remembered that this might be one of the last of its kind until late next fall. Believe me, I enjoyed every bite of the ripe, nutritious fruit tremendously, appreciating the rich taste, the pleasing texture and the seasonal color, thanking God for everything good in my life.

Copyright © 2006 by Daria Perse. All rights reserved.