Recently, I have discovered that people have genes that make them taste things differently. For example, some people have a gene that makes cilantro have flavor similar to soap. These people have a variation in a group of olfactory-receptor genes that allows them to strongly perceive the soapy-flavored aldehydes in cilantro leaves (Brittanica.com). Similar phenomenon occurs with paprika (some swear it has no taste, and others swear it makes food bitter), and bay leaves (again some people express that it ruins tomato sauce, giving it a bitter taste).
People aren't much different. Some may appear bitter to others, while others may see these individuals as normal--jaded by life, as many people are. When did jaded become normal to so many? When did bitter become the flavor of society, rather than something much more appealing like sweet or even savory?
Perhaps, I am asking the wrong question, as I so often do. How do we help those that have owned bitterness as part of the human experience to see that their could be a better, healthier way to live?
As much as I hate bitter flavors, I have chosen to love bitter people. These are the people in our lives who have grown firmly in the disdain of how life has played out for them. They can be bitter about many things--never having the opportunity to go to college, being unable to find the right romantic partner, having sicknesses or health issues, being unable to have children, the list goes on and on. And while we are tempted to avoid those bitter ones around us, I propose something different. Love. It seems to me that they need it more than anyone, even if they are unwilling to outwardly accept it. It in fact seems very easy to give up on bitter people.
As one of my challenges in this New Year, I am going to choose to love the bitter people. Sometimes it may be from a distance and other times it might be much closer. I am also going to work on my bitter spots. We all have them. Areas of our life that just didn't go our way.
What are some of yours? How can you let go of the bitter? are you holding a grudge or withholding forgiveness? Are you the one that needs to be asking for forgiveness?
I refuse to allow bitterness to be a normal part of my existence. Instead I am going to figure out a way to make life more sweet. I am going to freely give forgiveness and love and taste all the beautiful things this life has to offer.
Comentários