Object Writing – The Apple

The typical red apple is a very deceiving piece of work. There are
tons of clues that practically scream words that simply aren’t true.
First of all, on the outside it proclaims, “I’m red, I’m smooth, I’m
seamless, and you can’t touch me!” Why is this odd and why is this
apple speaking to me? I’d have to say because I love apples.

When you take a bite out of an apple (you may actually decide to
clean the wax off first, but that’s a personal preference), you are
rewarded for your curiosity. You find out the truth! The apple
definitely is not red on the inside, but rather an off-white flesh
tone. It’s not smooth either! It’s actually quite bumpy (after you’ve
taken a bite), sticky, and crunchy. This take on an apple can be
applied to the everyday. To put it simply, things aren’t’ always what
they seem, in fact, they very rarely are.

Are apples ever what they seem to be? To answer that question I’ll
have to guess. I think they are if you look closer, but farther away
at the same time. Apples grow on a tree. The tree is constantly
trying to protect its kind by producing apples, which are meant to
spread the legacy. So on a larger scale, yes, the apple and it’s
father can be seen as a whole, as can everything, and if looked at in
a certain way the apple can seem non-deceiving.

The experience of eating an apple is a shared one. Billions around
the world have done it, so it’s a curious incident that people don’t
talk about this regular occurrence more often, especially since the
human race likes sharing similar experiences.

Apples really don’t have much to them if you look from another
perspective. I have a personal experience for this reasoning. One
evening when I was playing the piano, and an apple piece fell into my
grasp. I sub-consciously decided not to eat it and therefore I left
it on the top of the piano. The problem is that I forgot about it,
thus nature started to take it’s course. The apple stared to
evaporate! I actually hid the apple piece so that no one would move
it I was so intrigued! After a period of time I started to lose
interest, and then one day I checked again. It had shriveled to about
¼ its original size. I find it amazing how much water is, and how
much of our everyday lives its part of, most of which we don’t notice.

This story can also be applied to the outside world! When you let
things sit for a while in your mind, the thing starts to break down
until it’s more real or understandable. For the apple, one could
argue that it’s real being is in the molecules that make up the
flesh, and that the water is just along for the ride, ready to leave
at moments notice.

I hope that next time you’re eating an apple you don’t just eat it.
But rather you become it and embody yourself in it, and try to see it
as part of a whole, on the same plain you yourself exist in. Thank
you for listening.

- joel penner