Fruitflesh: Seeds of Inspiration for Women Who Write by Gayle Brandeis. I’ve had this book for a while on my shelf and so I grab it (finally) and open it up. I’ve spent the last few months working, writing, living, and not writing this blog. So I figured I’d come back to my blog today… with a fresh start.
The first entry of Fruitflesh just happens to be my favourite so far. I hope the author will not mind me posting this entry. I find it extremely inspiring.
Page 13: Fruitflesh Meditation: Mango
Hold a mango in your hand, Notice how solid it feels, rooted firmly in its own skin. The flesh inside is incredibly sexy—moist and slick, saturated with shades of sunset and intense, ambrosial flavor. The mango is wild but centred, its seed supportive as a spine.
Slice off a wedge of mango. Bend the fruit back, like a neck arched in pleasure. Explore the sweet flesh with your tongue, your teeth. Devour the fruit until your whole face is slippery with its juice.
Let your writing be like this feast—bold, sensual, unapologetic. Enter into it fully, with your whole body, without hesitation.
Gayle Brandeis
Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Whenever I read this first passage, I want to dive into writing the way I would dive into eating this fruit. Messy, dripping, sticky, sweet. There’s no stopping to wipe my fingers because the next bite just saturates my fingers all over again. There’s no point. I have to go through from start to finish enjoying the process without stopping. By the end, there’s a gooey mess all over my hands and face. And when it comes to the end, I feel that same disappointment as when I have to stop writing. Real life. And, with the fruit, the process of cleaning up the mess.
I’m back.
CC