Tasting the Strawberry -- Kerry

Excerpt from "Comfortable With Uncertainty" by Pema Chodron

"A woman is running from tigers. She runs and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. She comes to the edge of a cliff. She sees a vine there, so she climbs down and holds onto it. Then she looks down and sees that there are tigers below her as well. At the same time, she notices a little mouse gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries emerging from a nearby clump of grass. She looks up, she looks down, and she looks at the mouse. Then she picks a strawberry, pops it into her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly.

Tigers above, tigers below. This is the predicament we are always in. Resentment, bitterness and holding a grudge prevent us from seeing and hearing and tasting and delighting. The might be the only moment of our life, this might be the only strawberry we'll ever eat."

This is a direct analogy to a writer's life. If we do not take the time to enjoy the pleasure of the writing skill that we all possess, we lose this aesthetic pleasure to the chaos. Here's to tasting the strawberry.