Happiness month day 28 – sharing the bounty

sharing-foodI don’t know about you; but something that rings true for me is that it’s better to give than get.

I love putting a smile on people’s faces by giving them something – it can be something simple like a hug, a compliment or a good cup of tea.

In Deepak Chopra’s “Seven spiritual laws of success” he cites Monday as honouring the Law of Giving.

He writes “Today, bring whoever you encounter a gift: a compliment or flower. Gratefully receive gifts. Keep wealth circulating by giving and receiving care, affection, appreciation and love.”

It’s not difficult is it?

This year our courgettes have taken off in spectacular style. They seem to love our soil and can’t get enough of producing food for us. The trouble is, a family of three can only get through so many of these green delights.

Unfortunately courgettes don’t freeze well. I already have a freezer full of enough soup to last us two months. I’ve made chutney and we’re topped up to the eyeballs with ratatouille.

I can’t bear to see perfectly good food wasted, so this week I was delighted when I saw Mr Green carrying this through the house:

courgettes

By the end of the day our friends and neighbours had had their fill of courgettes too. The little girl across the road who claimed courgettes was one of her favourite vegetables, the elderly neighbour who loves to eat stuffed marrow as a reminder of her Mother’s famous war time recipe and a friend who loves chutney were all delighted to share in our bounty. The story that really made my day was of the new neighbours, who I know struggle financially, took two of them and hopefully enjoyed some free food for tea.

It felt so good to be sharing our food. It felt for a few moments like I was really part of a community where sharing and caring was the norm. I felt proud that we had grown so much food we were able to share it freely. And it felt great that this food had gone to a good home rather than ending up composted or rotting into the ground.

2 Comments

  1. nadine sellers on August 28, 2011 at 3:37 pm

    warm fuzzies for the soul; wish i were closer for a free hug-and-courgette, i’ll have to settle for the smile on my face just thinking of all the happy neighbors at harvest time…here it’s peppers and tomato time..no squashes..



  2. Mrs Green on August 28, 2011 at 6:25 pm

    Ahhh, me too Nadine – lots of hugs and courgettes 🙂 Enjoy those peppers; we’ve had a go at growing them for the first time this year. So far we have one teeny tiny fruit which we are willing to grow before the frosts come!