In Praise of the Tomato
Who would have thought that this wee fruit with its humble
beginnings as a weed in South America would have inspired me and helped my
development as a human being. But ‘it is
so and they so’, as the folk song goes and so I am very pleased to introduce
Ms.Tullulah, my inspiration.
Background: I live in Birmingham, the second largest city
in the UK. I have the good fortune to be
both an allotmenteer and a Buddhist practitioner, the combination of which
brings me enjoyment, fun, satisfaction and challenge. It also gives me plenty of food to eat and
food for thought . My current thinking
is focused on the process of transformation, as illustrated by Tullulah who I
will return to soon, and how by
attending to the small, seemingly ordinary things we can bring about positive
changes in ourselves and our environment.
Take 77 Sunset Strip,
our allotment plot, for example. Five
years ago, we stood waist high in brambles and grass with hardly a worm to be
seen, only bits of old carpets and blue plastic. Now we have a pond with frogs and have
attracted bees and butterflies with a variety of herbs such as lavender,
lovage, borage, angelica, fennel and comfrey and there’s loads of worms. On a hot summer’s day, enveloped by the scent
of lavender and the lazy droning of the bees, I ask for nothing more. (It’s a different story in the winter!) At least I can
think that amidst the suffering and destruction in the world, I’m part of
nature’s creative process and making a positive contribution to our wild life
and environment.
I was recently picking the last of the tomatoes, admiring
them - some red, some green, shiny and smooth on their trusses - and wondering
about the ripening process. How did
Tullulah become the red, juicy, sweet thing we see today?
TOMATOES AND
TRANSFORMATION
A Buddhist explanation says that an unripened, green tomato
on a sunny window sill will quickly ripen and turn red just as it is. A ripe and unripe tomato are not the same and
yet the change takes place within the same fruit.
Although external factors are involved, the important point
is that the tomato contains the inherent potential for this change to come
about.
HUMAN BEINGS AND
TRANSFORMATION
In the same way, as part of nature, the life of an ordinary
human being itself contains the inherent potential for transformation and for enlightenment.
I am learning that
this process of positive transformation and enlightenment is not an esoteric,
other worldly affair; it means living in
the real world with the awareness that within me (and each of us) is the
courage, determination, compassion, creativity and wisdom to transform my life
for the better and by doing so, create a better world. I know
that by applying myself with perseverance and determination, I can do this and
receive great benefits in the process. We can overcome our fears, obstacles and negativity and achieve our own
unique potential, becoming happy and fulfilled just as we are, just like Tullulah.
DEDICATION AND THANKS
I would like to dedicate
this blog to tomatoes, generally and to Tulullah, specifically. (Will I ever be able to eat a tomato sandwich
again?)
A special thanks to
Milo, Fabian and their successful C.A.K.E recipe for bloggers without which, I
know for a FACT, I would not have
written and published my first blog. Thank you so much for inspiring me to transform my fears and doubts into the courage to share
what’s in my heart.
Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Poppy.
Notes: It is an
everyday event to see tomatoes in all our supermarkets and noble greengrocers-
the few that remain- yet this fruit, cultivated by the Aztecs, did not become popular
or widely available in the UK until the mid 19th century, having
previously been thought of as poisonous to eat. The tomato is also known as the love apple, or ‘pomme d’amour’ possibly because of its
aphrodisiacal qualities.
