Beginner brain and pomegranates

I’m guessing (from the wisdom of my two and a bit years!) that one of the secrets of a long-lasting yoga practice is to retain the ‘beginner brain’, to keep seeing things afresh, finding novelty in the familiar. Keeping it vital.

It’s a nice attitude to have in life too and I’ve been trying to spend more time goofing around of late (mostly in private!) — unleashing my inner child a little. When did I become so serious?

When I was taught Mindfulness techniques one of our first practices was eating a raisin mindfully — employing all our senses and trying to experience the raisin as if for the first time. Harder than it sounds!

I’m bringing my beginner brain now to the two pomegranates that came in my fruit box this week. This is easy for me. Here’s why: I confess I’ve managed to reach the grand old age of 40 without ever having handled a pomegranate! Sure I’ve eaten them, but I’ve never had to prepare one.

I an fascinated by these fruits. They look almost prehistoric to me. From the outside they look inedible. Just as well I know what treasure they contain. But for now I’m just anticipating eating the fruit, and am yet to open them. I pick one up each time I pass the fruit bowl just for the joy of handling it, feeling the shape (round but curiously angular), sniffing it (yes,there’s a slight fruity smell that suggests some promise of good eating), and loving the colour of the skin.

Anticipation is lovely. But I don’t want it to end in disappointment. So tell me someone please: how will I know when they are ripe?