It's Me, Not the Avocado

This morning I was preparing my lunch, and trying to decide which way was best to peel and slice up an avocado. The last four years, I have been preparing avocados and a whole rainbow of other fruits and veggies for David's blenderized diet, and our family's general consumption.

The peeling of an avocado has always been a challenge. My mom taught me a long time ago how to cut one in half and then catch the seed with the knife to work it out. But after that, I usually just scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

When it comes to slicing, things get messy. So, this morning I started with step one. Cut it in half. Then I removed the seed. Then I tried to slice it with the skin on, unsuccessfully, but the halves were still in tact. So I started to peel the skin off of one half using my hands. I expected it to turn into a mushy mess, but instead I slowed down. Very, very slow. And started peeling.

The skin began to peel off beautifully. I thought to myself, "Wow, when I slow down the avocado will peel--"

Wait!! That avocado is not peeling itself.

When I slow down, I will peel the avocado successfully. It is my brain perceiving all the minute details that are required to lift and remove the thick skin from the delicate insides. Without my brain, it is just going to sit there. It has more to do with my perception than it does with the qualities of a fruit.

Ok, I just realized I seemingly wrote an entire entry about an avocado. But really, it is about being able to perceive differences. What do I perceive, and what, precisely, am I doing with that information?

At any rate, I'm looking forward to enjoying my cleanly sliced avocado.