I met Isabella in a restaurant where we usually go because it’s always empty, even though the food is excellent. She tells me that, during her trip to Nepal, she spent some weeks in a monastary. One afternoon, she was walking near the monastry with one of the monks, when he opened the bag he was carrying and stood for along time studying its contents. Then he said to Isabella:

“Did you know that bananas can teach you the meaning of life?”

He took out a rotten banana from the bag and threw it away.

“That is life that has been gone and which was not used to the full and for which is now too late.”

Then he drew out another banana which was still green. He showed it to her and put it back in the bag.

“This is life that has yet to happen, and for which we need to wait until the moment is right.”

Finally, he took out a ripe banana, peeled it, and shared it with Isabella.

“This is the present moment. Learn how to gobble it up without fear or guilt.”

- Paulo Coelho, Like The Flowing River.