This morning I was grumping. I was grumping because we have a palm tree on the path that leads to the main entrance of the school and it is making a mess. There are purple berries everywhere and as the students walk down the path they stomp on these purple berries and then track them into the school. I was grumping because the gardeners are not sweeping the berries aside, and I was grumping because our poor custodians are going to bear the brunt of the realities of floors stained with deep purple juice.
As I cursed the berries falling from these palm trees (of course, not in the presence of the children) I began to wonder what they were. So I took a photo of the tree (above) and of the berries (below).
I consulted my favorite research tool – professor Google – and learned that the berries appear to be Acai berries. These berries have recently been touted as having an amazing amount of healing qualities and apparently is used for weight loss due to its qualities that cause loss of appetite (I am glad our students are not eating them!)
It is interesting how I viewed these burdensome berries in a different light when I realized that they have properties that are sought after….. and it make me think of the students at our school and many individuals in our lives. How often do we get a negative first impression only to later be proven wrong? How often are we frustrated by a circumstance, only to find that when we have more information we also are armed with an ability to extend more patience?
I still find the Acai berries to be a burden, but I do have a new respect for them. I realize that they are not burdensome for everyone and in some places they are grown and harvested. Here, at our school, they do make a mess, but in many parts of the world they are considered quite valuable. It always helps to gain perspective. Thank you professor Google!!!
Today, 106 days ’til 40, I am thankful for the ability to gain more information and understanding – what a gift!
~400daystil40
Fortuitous Forty!!! 
Another Thousand Words
November 7, 2012 at 00:29
Oh, lucky you, 400! If they are not sprayed, why not collect some and dry them (250 degree F. oven on a lightly-oiled (olive, extra virgin) cookie sheet for at least 2-3 (maybe a bit more?)hours, then let cool and freeze or vacuum seal. They are so delicious and very, very loaded with Vit C and other good things!
Wonderful “Looking Up” image!
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:52
hmmm… I need to seriously consider this!!!!! And thank you for the compliment on my photo! It means a lot to me coming from you!!! 🙂
Another Thousand Words
November 7, 2012 at 23:36
No need, 400! Good photography is something I enjoy, obviously! Thank YOU for all the ‘Likes’ today…happy you took time to visit!
400daystil40
November 8, 2012 at 23:48
🙂
Another Thousand Words
November 7, 2012 at 00:31
P.S.: You should turn them with a spatula every 20 mins or so and…this can be done with many small fruits, even thinly-sliced apples or pears.
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:51
🙂
Ray Laskowitz
November 7, 2012 at 01:14
Professor Google? Funny. That’s a basic starting place for any solid research. Nothing more. 🙂
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:50
Yeo!
sharonhughson
November 7, 2012 at 02:33
It’s always about our perspective, isn’t it? Some days I just don’t want to open my mind to other viewpoints. I’m glad that most of the time I’m willing to be proven wrong – especially about a student.
Thanks for the timely reminder.
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:50
Yes, definitely!
buckwheatsrisk
November 7, 2012 at 02:49
well at least you were grumping because you were concerned for the custodians! 😉
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:49
yes! that was my main and only concern for the grumps! (well, maybe! 🙂 )
buckwheatsrisk
November 7, 2012 at 23:00
lol i’m sure it was…
writeknit
November 7, 2012 at 03:27
On the way from the train to work I used to walk under several ginkgo trees. In the fall, the berries/fruit (?) used to cover the sidewalk. When you stepped on them or rolled a computer case over them, they smelled awful! I know they are valuable also, but yuck! Hope your acia have a better smell. 🙂
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:49
Yes, they do, thankfully!!!
A Table in the Sun
November 7, 2012 at 05:09
Our big find at school today was a troupe of gargantuan black widows. Ewww!
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:49
uh oh – scary!!!
brenaturally
November 7, 2012 at 05:21
I agree that people are typically quick to judge only to find out they were wrong and with a little “research” find a great thing. This is especially interesting considering the vote being tallied today…I wonder how many people have only seen the “stains” of politics and not done the research.
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:48
Such a good point….
sakuraandme
November 7, 2012 at 08:51
They would drive me to despair! *laughing* Good for you or not? I still think,”what a mess!”
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:48
hehehe
Spider42
November 7, 2012 at 11:28
Nice post and I agree with what you say here a lot.
I’ve had this thought and conversation before that while there is something to be said for it, a first impression is given far too much weight when (more or less) judging a person, or even other things.
There is something to be said for that first – but truthfully, some people are good at lying and you don’t see it till later and others are horrible when 1st meeting but warm-up/come around/get comfortable enough after a bit. It’s all subjective and varies between people.
And as far as the acai berries go – let me just say that if I had an acai tree growing and just dropping them like snowfall as the one you’re talking about seems to be doing? I’d find a way, either by running there before sunrise, paying someone to pick them or collect them while still relatively whole and simply wash and eat them because they are remarkably healthy little things.
And while they’ve been touted to supress appetite and for weight loss and all, that’s nowhere near enough of a thing to be worried – and I’d say that if someone is needlessly weight conscious, I’d rather given them these instead of well, nothing else really TO give, leaving them with potential eating disorders or such? (assuming thats their inclination)
Don’t know what school policy is where you work, but maybe you could even collect them and add them to a mixed fruit juice for the kids if you’d rather do that then take them home.
I put this to you and your fellows at the school :
The world over there are people that are starving and dying and sick from malnutrition. Here you have one of the more nutritional fruit on Earth just sitting there and the fruit is just being left on the ground and turned to mush, rotting and then becoming garbage instead of just being collected somehow (maybe hanging something under it to catch them and emptied a couple of times a day or as needed?) and used and appreciated.
Just so you know (because not you, but a lot don’t realise this), stuff like this, this is a part of why a lot of people dislike Americans. Few other places would have this happening – when I was a kid, we would have been climbing up it and picking them before they ever hit the ground 😉
So appreciate what you have here or put it to some use, because even I feel a tad annoyed at the simple waste. You posted beautifully about being wasteful and learning in your daily life, consider this one more note in that book of learning.
Sorry if I offended in any way, just felt it beared saying.
Cheers.
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:48
No you did not offend me, you accurately described one of my many frustrations with the human race (okay, not the human race, but many humans!) The Acai berries are about 500-1000 cm in the air, so not so easy to catch…. and the tree is on our grounds, but not actually ours….. so it gets hard and complicated and they fall to the ground – and you are 100% correct, it is a sad waste… particularly in a world where many go without food daily. Sadly, I often beat myself up (figuratively) on this issue as a result of the amount of food my family ends up wasting and throwing away each week – it is sad. 😦
simon7banks
November 7, 2012 at 22:46
I would be careful about weight loss. There is a short story by H.G. Wells in which a fat gentleman prevails on an acquaintance with some Indian ancestry to give him an old Indian recipe for weight loss. He takes the stuff and is found floating against the ceiling.
400daystil40
November 7, 2012 at 22:53
hehehe!!!