The Orange Experience

I started a class called Voluntary Simplicity this semester. I had always seen the course in the annual course calendar, however I was unsure what it meant. Voluntary Simplicity.. What do you think it is? I think that is a good place to start before delving in to the rest of my thoughts.

To begin the class, our professor welcomed everyone in their fullness. I had never heard anything like this before, but I listened intently because I could hear the passion in the professors voice. At this moment, and as cheesy as it may sound, I think my life began to change. I began to gain an appreciation for all those who were different than me. Those who identify as LGBTQ and so on were welcomed. Introverts were welcomed. Extroverts were welcomed. First Nations were welcomed and those identifying as other races not Caucasian were welcomed. The professor continued to welcome those who made it possible for us students to be in the class that evening. Simply put, we were welcomed in our fullness and I never felt so comfortable in my life.

For anyone who knows me or even knows of me, I think they would say that at first I come off as very shy, heck, I am sure some people think I might not even know how to open my mouth, especially when I am at school. But if you get to know me, and many people would probably attest to this, I don't shut up, just ask my wife. Nevertheless, I was welcomed in my fullness and at that moment I realized it was okay to just be me, plain old Jordan.

Have you ever taken the time to eat an orange? Like really taken time to eat an orange? If you haven't, I suggest you do because it might be the most meaningful experience of your life. Stay with me here if this sounds really random, because it is, but it has a world of meaning behind it. In our world today, we have approximately 16 hours I would say to do everything that we need to in our day. I say 16 hours because 8 hours is sort of the standard time for sleeping. So, in these 16 hours, we either have to go to work for at least half of that, or go to school for sometimes up to 12 hours a day... #StudentLife... In our callings, we are required to do everything that is assigned to us if we want to have a successful a meaningful day. We are praised for doing good work, and myself and millions of others strive off of being praised for our work and getting good grades... By the time we arrive home, we have to make supper, do the dishes, possibly watch our favourite TV show or hockey game, prepare for bed and then go to sleep so we can wake up and do our best the next day. Within these 16 hours I very briefly discussed and made up, where would one find time to take the time to really eat an orange? The first thing that may come to your mind is... there is no time to really eat an orange, however, I have learned to value my time simply because I was told to take 12 minutes, I repeat 12 minutes to eat a Christmas orange...

When our class was told this, the smirks on our faces were evident, and the subtle sound of laughter and mutter could easily be heard. The oranges were handed out and we were told to inspect our oranges for about two minutes. After this, the oranges were collected, shuffled around, and passed around the circle we were sitting in. Our goal was to find the orange we originally inspected. As the oranges went around, I had not come across mine, and I began to worry... I leaned to the person sitting beside me and claimed that I really wanted my orange back. I had spent two whole minutes analyzing and feeling my orange and for me it became a possession. Thankfully, I did find my orange along with the rest of the class. From there the clock started. 12 minutes to eat my orange...

I felt it, and held it in my hands. It was rough but smooth, round, but slightly non-spherical. I smelt my orange and earthy aromas filled my senses. I then tried scratching the peel because well I had twelves minutes to eat an orange I could of dusted in about 1 minute. Did you know that when you scratch an orange peel you will begin to smell the citrus that awaits your taste buds. I found this very interesting, and this is the moment where this exercise became less silly for me. I began to peel my orange, recognizing that my orange was beginning to lose its outer protection. I then, one by one, peeled each individual slice a part and noticed many things I had never thought about before.... I wonder who has touched this orange before me.. I wonder why an orange is called an orange.... and so on. I began eating my orange very very slowly, trying to enjoy each piece as if it were the last thing I would ever eat. Nearly 10 minutes had gone by and I was down to my last slice of orange, so I broke it in half and recognized that my orange was made up of what looked like small little pellets.. I thought this was cool... then I ate it, and time was up....

And that is the end of my blog... Just kidding.... I will come back to the orange in just a moment.

There is three things that I will be doing this semester for approximately two weeks. Yoga, meditation, and exercise (including taking the stairs). My reasoning for this is to begin to understand myself more--to often are we caught up in everything that goes on around us. Because of this, we often forget to take care of what is most important, and in my opinion that is the 'self.' By doing these things, I hope to understand myself more fully by being healthy, and taking the time in a day to spend time bettering myself. In addition, I have though a lot about taking the stairs when I am at school. I believe that this is living simply because back in the day, when technology was not as advanced as it is today, the only way to go up was by stairs. I think tearing down my life in a sense to a slightly more primitive state (if i can use that word) will help me appreciate the simple things more (like eating an orange). The mobility of my body, the way that I breath and the way that I move. Being able to control my thinking, and slowing down my anxious moments. Removing all the toxicity from my surroundings and simply living a life that I believe we were intended to live. Our society has become so advanced--technology, media, the internet, relationships, materials like homes, cars, and jewelry. If you really think about it, the purpose of this life is to live. Maybe that sounds to simple or mundane, but sometimes the most ordinary and simple things can truly be the most extraordinary..... Which leads me back to the orange. what a satisfying experience it was. I took twelve minutes to build a relationship with my orange..Some people in my class became sad that there orange would soon be eaten, and others like me, were happy that I had become so close to my orange. No matter how each individual person felt, I know that everyone truly had an extraordinary experience because of the simplicity that our life has to offer.

So, when life gets crazy, and you get caught up in doing what we are told to do by the standards that have been set, remember to eat an orange because it might just change your life.


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