Eating Bitter

Is an old Chinese saying. It literally means to endure hardship. So what does it mean?

Well, it could be mean not caving in to instant gratification. For example, don’t have the $5 Starbucks coffee every day. Save $5 a day for some future and more important goal. My youngest is a great example. She will forego treats and things and saves her money for her real goals. Right now, they are mainly her climbing membership and her camping activities.

In your tai chi, it could mean to endure practice to get better. Maybe it could mean to put up with your teacher and all his quirks. You know, stuff like that.

Tonight, we took it literally. Often times, bitter things seem to have a medicinal property. I have heard from various sources of the benefits of bitter melon. The old one is that it helps against cancer. And I also heard it helps to lower blood pressure.

We eat it, not to endure hardship, but because Wendi likes it. Years ago, I was giving a bag of wild bittermelon. Mahalo Charlie. So what do I do? I cook it. But with a twist. I used garlic and black bean sauce. But the trick was I used roast pork. At the time, Wendi said she hated bittermelon and will it eat it. So I figured my

Mom and sister would eat most of it. But Wendi took a taste and ended up eating most of it herself.

Since then, we have also grown it. Wendi picks regularly and made it known to me that she picked a good amount. It was enough for maybe two meals for the two of us. The girls do not like eating bitter.