Putting Gratitude Into Perspective With Just Three Bites of Fruit

Photo Credit: Charity Begins With Me

In a win for Charity Begins With Me, a child got the rare option to choose which piece of fruit they’d like to eat. So, they took a bite from all three. For someone with very few choices in life, having three options was no small feat. And it gave us some food for thought on the power of perspective:

Johannesburg, South Africa (10 January 2025) — How do we combat the problems life throws our way when they seem so impossible to overcome, so big in their burden? The bad news is, in most cases, there is no single shining knight of an answer. The good news is there are many little answers. They might not solve all the problems, but they definitely remind us that our problems might not be as big as we thought. Or at least that there is more to our story and to our worlds than just our hurdles. One of these little answers is gratitude. And recently, a simple story spent some time putting gratitude into perspective with just three bites of fruit.

Charity Begins With Me has been offering support, care and love to children from underserved communities in Johannesburg for over a decade. The charity’s founder, Stephan Ferreira, has seen firsthand time and time again that the most pressing problems in the world he serves and attempted to solve them however he can.

To most of us privileged enough to read this on our computers or smartphones, these problems are not complex. Nutritious food, stationary, school shoes.

They are ‘simple problems’ to most. Yet, they are dire problems to many more.

When one realises that privilege means you are not weighed down by simple problems, it’s hard not to feel gratitude wash over you. And when we realise that many complicated problems are intertwined with solutions and choices that we have the ability to make possible for ourselves, it’s hard not to recognise the fact that there is power in that itself.

In a short story, Stephan put gratitude into perspective:

“I’ve spent almost 10 years with these kids. And I know full well they live in a world without many options.

There is hardly ever the option to choose what they want to eat for breakfast or dinner. Any food is a blessing.

They do not have the option to wear their favourite pair of shoes, because most likely they only own one pair of shoes.
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And the I saw this today.

Imagine having three pieces of fruit and you get the option of what to eat first. And then boldly deciding to eat all three at the same time.

One bite apple.

One bite banana.

One bite of watermelon.

I am sure many people won’t see this as a very big deal. But this is definitely a small win for me.”

Yes, problems are a symptom of life for all of us, no matter where we come from. But sometimes, taking into account what you consider a victory and what someone else considers a victory is all the ammunition you need to appreciate life more. Not despite the problems. But perhaps because you have better problems than you once did. Or problems that you have the power to solve.

And, if you can add a little relief to another’s seemingly simple problem, you might just find that there’s no cure for feeling overwhelmed with challenges like kindness.