A good friend of mine brought me some lovely fruit which comprised of pears bought at a slashed price from the bargain shelf in one of the supermarkets, apples left out on walls as spare from windfall and some delicious juicy oranges with lots of seeds, available from a car boot sale by the bagful.
Many people wouldn’t eat these fruits, as they would consider them sub-standard or too much like hard work with the peeling, chopping, de-seeding and preserving, but I consider them to be a real treasure trove, and I am very glad to receive them. Once prepared, I will mostly freeze them in little tubs. Being Diabetic, I can’t really eat ice cream, but I can get away with the odd tub of frozen fruit.
When you live on a very low income, you get to benefit from such wonderful opportunities and other people who don’t have the time or energy to do the necessary processing love to see the food being used, and not going to waste.
Sometimes, I think that I don’t have much in life, but at other times, I am amazed at the kindness and generosity of other people. And if I can give back, when people want it, with finished tubs of frozen fruit, so much the better. Otherwise, I might be able to give back in some other way, with a similar act of kindness somewhere down the line.
The power of small acts of kindness to spread warmth, happiness and contentment throughout a community is often underestimated, but I can attest, as a person receiving it, that it definitely makes a difference to me. And I live in a city, not in a tiny village.
I know there is a lot of violence and aggression in the world, along with a whole series of negative behaviours that happen every day from many people, but it is great to be reminded of the kindness of others from time-to-time, and it is good to pay it forward, too.
Fraser
September 2023