Grapes, Grapes of Wrath, and the Good

We were making chicken salad and fruit bags for an activity the other day, and a friend informed me that grapes have more sugar than Oreos.  Good grief.

I went to a class years back called The Spiritual Value of Reading Secular Literature.  One idea that has stuck with me was a question, are we more concerned about bumping into bad stuff than seeking for good?

I loved this idea and validation. Because it confirmed to me what I’d begun to suspect and learn in my own reading journey.  I have little patience for authors who litter their writing with profanity, sex scenes and anything crass, crude, or vulgar just because.  Good writers should be able to jump higher than that.  But I’m actually referring to novels.  I give way more latitude to my non-fiction.  Which sounds completely inconsistent.  But not really.  I understand that when an author’s keeping things real, when she’s quoting an ill-educated person living a life of desperation, his language may not be polished, it’s all he’s maybe known coming from an abusive past.  I get that.  And to some extent, I can live with it for the greater good that comes from reading time-tested and quality literature.  The Bible is perhaps the best example of this.

And so of course there are exceptions to novels.  Consider all the great works that we consider classics. They have their share of sticky situations, tangled love webs, less-than-exemplary lifestyles and vocabulary, but it’s not all in there for shock value or to sell; it’s necessary to explain the lifestyles, the quandaries, the difficulty of the lives and times of its characters.  In my mind, it’s generally purposeful.  And we acquiesce because the morals, the lessons, the character development and insights are so valuable and timeless.  The positives outweigh the negatives, tipping the scale nearly to the floor.

I’m completely aware of the trash that abounds.  And agree we need to be judicious and so careful with our selections in every sector of our lives.  But sometimes we go too far, sidestepping the bad but missing out on so much good as we do.

How many of us have avoided avocados because of their high fat content?  But they are sugar, sodium, and cholesterol free and loaded with nearly 20 vitamins and minerals as well as

heart-healthy monounsaturated fat.  We just hear fat and close the door.

And grapes?  Yes, naturally sweet, but they’re good for hydration and “especially dark-colored ones, are loaded with phytochemicals, antioxidants that may help protect against cancer and heart disease. Two of those phytochemicals, anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin, may be especially good for your immune system. Grapes also contain vitamin C and selenium” (webmd.com) as well as vitamin K.  To me they’re worth keeping around.

But that’s the thing I hear over and over these days, people avoiding foods because they’re “carbs” (which in Britain is labeled as “energy”), or have sugar or aren’t high enough in protein.  We’re missing out on so much if we simply choose to focus on the small negatives inherent in some foods instead of recognizing the abundant merits of a varied diet.

This principle is widely applicable.  

Think people, friends you have because you consider all their endearing qualities more important than the fact that she hates dogs or he lives sort of far away.

Think majors and careers.  Did you look at the list of classes and bow out of a major that you otherwise felt drawn to? Most of our friends had to endure organic chemistry and hours of lab work; Todd had to take public speaking. But do you forego your dream of working in the medical field because of a few rough classes?  Are there parts of every job that we'd like to outsource?

Let’s go back to dogs.  Yes, there’s a learning curve at the beginning as you teach when to go outside and when to sleep.  But does a pet's loyalty, unconditional love, and companionship, the good outweigh all that in the long run?

Would you go back to your childless days?  Have the amazing moments of joyous payback been worth the hardships?  And let’s be honest, there’s plenty that’s difficult.  Nights of throwing up, of staying up, times when you want to give up.  Money spent on diapers and formula and car insurance and college.  But would you change all the memories, the years, the good, so you wouldn't have the intermittent unpleasant times?

Did Mother Teresa avoid dirt? Oozing skin sores? Or did she overlook the poverty and smell and notice a person’s eyes and goodness?  Did she know the work, her vision, would be more far reaching than the opposition she endured?

Did Christ spend his days in the temple teaching only the righteous?  Or did he leave and seek out the sinner, the lame, the rebellious, the destitute?  You know he continues to look past our poor performances, our lame attempts, our imperfections, and our self-made-messes to lift us and to love us, just as he did when he walked the earth.

I guess I just think most natural foods, quite a few books, and all people have value.  I of course espouse high standards.  I freely and firmly agree with you, we need to be choosy to some degree.  But maybe we can open our minds a little.  And our hearts.  Let’s not avoid people because it would require us to stretch.  Let’s be ok with a little dirt.  Let’s increase what we allow on our plates.  Let’s use our discretion of course, but let’s not let our filter keep us from the abundance of good that’s within our reach.