When picking these blackberries I entered a mental "zone". Picking blackberries became a metaphor for making a living. The whole idea was to reach the berries, select the ripe ones and extract the prize from the tangled clutch. It occurred to me that this required preparation, (dragging along stepladder, thick clothes, secateurs), intention, (I wanted the berries from the vines to be in my bucket), willingness to change tactics, (extend my reach or cut out the branches), selecting and discarding useful goods and processes ( I needed to touch the blackened berries to see if they were ripe and sweet then pluck or pass over the selected fruit), gathering wealth (getting the berries in the bucket and keeping the container secure), evaluation and review (stepping back from my picking to check out my bucket and the location of any other accessible berries), appreciation (tasting the berries and sucking up the sunshine). A lot like having a life.
I was amazed how much more meaningful the whole task became by creating these metaphors as I worked. I now have over 30 pounds of berries in the freezer, enough for wine and breakfasts for a while to come.
