A VERY POPULAR TREE
Our apricot tree (pictured above) is laden with fruit, the branches so heavy that they are almost hitting the ground beneath and when any wind blows, the grass around the tree ends up looking like an apricot-spotted carpet. There is much fruit to pick, either from the ground or the tree itself.
My father-in-law, Basil would guide us and others how best to prune the tree during the season and we would wait each year to see if the crop was going to be a bumper harvest. Last year’s was woeful but this year’s has been a real cracker! It’s a very special tree for us all as we saved it when we renovated the property and it really got a new lease of life. It needed and still needs lots of water and so when it’s a great year, it produces wonderfully juicy, delicious fruit.
It also holds very special memories of Basil as he loved the taste of those apricots and the tales of him sitting below the tree in the dappled sun, giving orders of which branch to cut, are legendary. It’s been a year since his passing and now, looking at the tree full of fruit I can’t help but think Basil would be happy at this year’s crop.
The other day I came across a pair of legs dangling from the tree as a woman who was passing by tried to reach for higher fruit. She told me she thought she would climb the tree and get some apricots stones to plant her own tree. I didn’t really buy that story as there were a ton of apricot stones on the grass beneath the tree. Red-faced, she skulked off down the street, with fruit in her pockets and in both hands.
I do love the summer fruit season – that act of picking fresh apricots from the tree and spending time making relishes and jams to join the many other jars from past harvests that I guess we will eventually use or give away. Check out our ‘Savour Summer’ recipes on page 76, that tell you how to extend your summer fruit repertoire to salsas, sauces and chutneys.
When I got back inside after listening to the apricot tree-dangling stranger try and convince me she was “only looking for an apricot stone to grow a tree”, it got me thinking what self-confidence she must have to come onto someone’s lawn, climb a tree and start picking fruit. I couldn’t and wouldn’t do it. I guess how we view ourselves and navigate life really differs greatly between each other. It’s also about self-esteem and this is where nature vs nurture (our environment, background and how we were
“I can’t help but think Basil would be happy at this year’s crop.”
brought up) when it comes to our self-esteem and self-confidence kicks in. It’s that inner voice that can tell you, ‘You will look silly’, or ‘Don’t do that, what will people think?’ Our inner critic can really stop us from reaching our full potential and doing things that could lead to so much joy and a better level of self-acceptance through building resilience.
In learning to identify what makes us feel good about ourselves, those things then help us build respect for ourselves, which in time will lead to increased self-worth. Challenge negative thoughts and reframe them to be more helpful and positive. It will take some practice as you may be so used to hearing those unhelpful thoughts, but writing them down and challenging whether they are true or not can really help your self-esteem.
Being mindfully in the present and not the past, paying attention to the ‘now’ is also a good way to create awareness of any negative thoughts towards yourself. Getting familiar with how you speak about yourself or to yourself in your own mind can be the first stage of lifting your self-esteem to a much higher place.
In our feature ‘Amazing Grace’ on page 26, we learn that ‘grace’ is not a word we hear so much these days but that giving forgiveness, kindness and generosity to those who may not necessarily deserve it can be life-changing for those in need. Grace is about recognising the humanity in even the most troubled people because we are all capable of good. In offering the gift of grace to others, this generosity of spirit has transformative power – not only for the people around us but also within ourselves.
So perhaps I should have helped the apricot treedangling stranger to find the perfect stone to plant a tree, or offered her more fruit? Or perhaps I should learn a few new tips about self-esteem so that one day I climb into someone’s tree and find the perfect stone?
In reality I’m probably just going to make more apricot jam that no-one will eat but that I look at proudly each time I open the cupboard.
That, and on a good harvest, think of Basil sitting under the tree in the sun.