Yesterday, my best friend’s dad made his transition. I didn’t know what to say or do. As I sat outside eating an apple and contemplating the meaning of this moment, a lesson came to me.

The fruit of the apple I was eating was so enjoyable. It was sweet and juicy. But then I got to the core, the part I never eat. Without ever tasting the core I already knew it to be the opposite of sweet and juicy.

This time, instead of throwing it away, avoiding it, and wasting it…I ate it. I ate the apple whole. I acknowledged that the part of the apple that I loved so much was born out of this core.

Life is similar. We have to swallow life whole. If we avoid life’s bitterness, then we can never fully appreciate its sweetness. What was once sweet becomes bitter and then we set out to find a greater sweetness that doesn’t exist. Enjoy life now, as it is, whole.

What sweet lessons will be born out of your most bitter moments?

Live purposefully!