While indulging in some delicious late season cantaloupe, I remembered that I had purchased Tajin recently for this exact moment! The salty spicy tangy mix is a brilliant culinary move by Mexican culture and makes melon taste sooooo much better, and yes, SWEETER! It is literally the salt that brings out the ultimate sweetness of the melon. And the contrasting spiciness of chili and tanginess of lime makes all 4 flavors more distinct and more vibrant and delicious. It’s the balance and and the diversity that makes the experience better overall than each ingredient could hold on it’s own.
It’s this metaphor I want to reflect on today. The reality that it’s not more sugar that makes it taste better on our tongues, but it’s something we might think of as opposite or unusual. We might not suspect such a harmonious friendship, but the MMMMs do not lie, and Tajin on fruit is definitely super MMMMable.
What does this salty-spicy-tangy-fruit combination teach us about our relationships with each other, our selves and our roles in society? Is it more people just like us that make life whole, sweeter, and more exciting? Or perhaps is it the blend of various flavors and spices that actually make our relationships stronger and more lively. We’ve all heard “variety is the spice of life” but what does that mean to us and are we living that?! Perhaps the question to all of us is HOW to find this balance and harmony.
As so many of said before me:
Is it not the darkness that gives meaning to the light?
Is it not the container that holds the flowing water?
Is it not the positive and negative ends that attract and bond?
In my life, I am thinking about the ways in which being a childless artist can support my friends and family with children, and in general, the ways in which we need others’ diversity to make our own uniqueness sweeter.
What is the salty fruit bringing up for you?
HUNGRY FOR MORE PONDERING?
Are there rules when it comes to opposites?
What does a “healthy opposite” relationship look like, and where are the boundaries?