During my regular runs, I started observing forest fruits along my route. Blackberries, raspberries, cherries – they’re everywhere in my village. They give me a purpose to run and a purpose to break from my run – in both cases, the reason is to pick them. I often go running armed with a plastic bag to accomplish this very purpose.

Picking fruits gives me the chance to stretch after a long run (I tend to think that the fruits furthest away from me are the best ones), catch my breath and enjoy the rewards of my workout. That’s why you may see me picking fruits at the most unsociable hours, either in the early morning (7 a.m. even at weekends) or in the evening before the sunset.

I found so much happiness while picking fruits. They are my favourite kind of snack / food :-) and so picking them makes me feel that I am taking from nature something that I love and cherish, which eventually becomes my own.

It enables me to reconnect with nature, discover its riches and enjoy them to the fullest.

It also gives me the time to think and reflect. I plan the rest of my day, think about the future and even come up with articles like this one. When I get into my ‘productivity mode’ and plan what fruitful things I will accomplish in a day, picking fruits is one of them and I normally allow myself an hour to do so. I often look forward to the next sunny day, as I know that there will be more fruits that will have become sun-kissed throughout the day. It’s an incredibly precious time: just me, my fruits and nature.

To enhance the time I spend collecting fruits, I often bring my ipod with me. I feel that listening to my music whilst picking fruits helps me to embrace the rhythms of nature as I harvest its assets. It also helps me to get into the day-dreaming state that I enjoy so much whilst spending time in nature.

As I harvest full amounts, I have to come up with healthy recipes that make the best use of them. This morning for example, I made a delicious sweet-and-sour crumble with baked raspberries topped with a mixture made of blended almonds and dates lightly stirred with oats in coconut oil.

Being able to pick my fruits has made me love summers even more, as this is an intrinsic part of my pastimes at this time of the year. I feel that all the fruits around me are peacefully waiting to be picked and enjoyed during the endless days of summer. I strongly encourage you to take up this practice and here are a few more reasons:

1. Time to disconnect

It’s a blissful opportunity to gather and channel your thoughts, while focusing on what you’re collecting.

2. Time to explore

It takes a bit of looking around to unravel natures’ best kept secrets. And what a sense of reward you feel when you find the best places to harvest! After a while of going back to your favourite harvesting spot, this will feel like it belongs to you. Even if you don’t own it, it’s your own peace of heaven… on earth.

3. Time to feel healthy and organic

Harvesting your own produce gives you the chance to go back to basics in terms of sourcing your food. After all,the best way to make sure your food is 100% organic and ethically sourced is to pick your own. In addition, being around fruits and tasting them will transpose you into a healthy / happy state of mind which will enhance your emotional well-being.

4. Time to indulge…guilt-free

Picking fruits as you head back home after your workout in nature is a great way to momentarily satisfy your post-workout thirst and/or hunger. I love surrounding myself with nature’s goodies and feasting on them as I collect them. This probably explains why it takes me an hour to fill a little bag – the fruits reach my mouth first!

5. Time to feel alive

Everything in nature is pure life after all and seeing more fruits come to life overnight, in the same place where you collected them the day before, truly is a wonder and a testament to the energy of nature.

6. Time to feel productive

The more you collect, the more productive you feel seeing the fruits of your hard labour (literally!). And in a self-generating process this sense of efficiency will fuel more productivity which will set you into an ‘achievement’ mode for the rest of the day. This will enable you to go off and accomplish even more things on your to-do list.