Cherries

Life is just a bowl of cherries. – Traditional proverb

     Summer is cherry season, another reason to love summer. The sweet redness of fresh cherries is unmatched by any other fruit. Even the eating experience is an exercise in awareness – notice how your tongue finds the pit and pushes it to your lips, and then juice stains your fingers as you reach to your lips to retrieve it – the ultimate fun food! You cannot absentmindedly munch these scarlet treasures, you may choke and croak.

     A serving size of fresh cherries (1 cup) provides 3 grams of fiber, 1 gram of protein, and 22 grams of carbohydrates (energy fuel). Cherries have been implicated for their positive health benefits relating to the brain, heart, and sound sleep. (If you are like me, you are asking how). Cherries are a source of melatonin which helps regulate our sleep cycle and protect brain cells from age-related damage. The red pigments in cherries have been found to decrease inflammation and inhibit plaque formation, both attributes that keep our hearts healthier.   

     Why is life a bowl of cherries? Life is seasonal. Life is colorful and leaves its stains on us as we journey through. Life is sweet but has pits and stems in the mix. Life should be lived with intention, not inattentively walking without minding the details. Then there’s the bowl – community – we do better together. 

Get yourself a bowl, fill it with organic cherries, invite a friend and take a walk under the open skies and relish the fact that you are alive.