In Praise of the Tomato

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 19^th 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.