Is Enjoying Higher Sugar Fruit Really THAT Bad?!

Nine years ago or so, a total stranger stopped me dead in my tracks, as I was on my way to my office after teaching (or maybe it was the other way around - I was on the way to a classroom to teach), eating a banana.

The stranger was fast to offer unsolicited advice: "Do you know that bananas are high in sugar? You should eat an apple instead."

I am aware that people are full of opinions that they believe are wise pieces of advice, not mere streams of consciousness. But, I was taken a bit by surprise. It wasn't as if I was trying to polish off a huge decadent cake in one fell swoop. I was snacking on a banana.

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Moments ago, I was partaking on strawberries, blueberries, and mango I prepared last night. The fruit is not marinating in confectioner's sugar, honey, or some other sweetener. It is just naked fruit. If enjoying fruit is the beginning of the end of my health and well-being, there are worse ways to go.

Clouded Vision and Gaining Clarity

I didn't mind the wet, blurry windshield. I found it beautiful.

That would not have been a welcome sight, had I been maneuvering in my vehicle.

That got me to thinking about how this clouded vision is akin to a couple of matters in my life: my profession and the fiction novel I am currently writing.

A Profession, an Occupation

I went through the requisite schooling to become an academic. I thought I was paving the road to becoming an academic. Life circumstances and desert conditions of academia have forced me to revisit what I will do with my education and my life.

Not that I will never be an academic.

But now, I am realizing that my focused educational background plays a crucial role in other ways: public speaking and writing (not limited to academic endeavors).

I am going into uncharted, unfamiliar territories. Making my own path is not necessarily a symptom of failure; playing an active role in shaping my profession is okay.

Writing this Novel

The process of writing has been excited, adventurous, frustrating, slow, intense, sometimes dry and thwarted, complete with a steep learning curve.

There have been times where my writing has stalled or stopped completely for one reason or another. The longer the period between writing, the more doubtful I sometimes grow in the project I am endeavoring to complete.

Insofar as writing is concerned, what has worked best for me is setting a schedule for completion. For awhile, I had stopped writing according to any schedule. What will be most helpful for the time being, is to commit to revising a chapter a week. Working to complete that goal, rather focusing on how cluttered, hectic, and demanding my daily schedule is, will help.

"I don't watch movies. They lie."

We were supposed to state what we considered "Best Movie Ever!" Could not help but notice the comment "I don't watch movies! They lie."

Surveying the reaction to that response, people seemed a bit put off that someone would write that. Movies tell stories, narratives.

What makes me curious is the story behind the comment. What contributed or influenced the person to write, "I don't watch movies! They lie." This inquiring mind wants to know.

My Love-Hate Relationship with Nature

A person once asked me, "Why don't you like flowers?"

There is no chance I do not like flowers.

Hands down, spring is one of favorite seasons. Beauty comes alive in nature, after being dormant for a season. Butterflies and bees emerge. It is a wonderful sight to behold.

As breath-taking a sight as it is to behold, my body reacts in opposition: the eye irritation, the stye that has paid an uninvited visit, the tender and blocked sinuses in my face, the stopped up nose, the fatigue.

Forgive me if, after moments of enjoying nature, I seek refuge to prevent further pain and suffering from my body's adverse reaction to everything that moves in nature.