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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Richard Reddie.

Good morning.

Today is Friday, and my local gym, as a way of both encouraging its members to attend on this day, as well as to help them develop healthier food options, has introduced free fruit, on a first-come, first-served basis. They call it ‘Fruity Fridays’. So, if you get to the gym before 8.30am that morning, you can avail yourself of a banana, satsuma or apple.

What seems incongruous is that when you go downstairs, near to the lockers where you can store your stuff, the gym displays these large photos of delectable cakes and pastries, and huge mugs of calorific cappuccinos and hot chocolate. Indeed, it’s normal to see gym members tucking into their fruit while ogling these photos. While it’s never wise to assume, I can guess which option most would prefer at that moment.

I used to think that the free fruit, and the cake and cappuccino photos were sending out mixed messages to gym members. Surely, fruits and cakes are strange, gastronomic bedfellows. Moreover, the cynic in me also thought the gym was not so subtly telling its members that if they ate the fruit and exercised, they could then eat as many cakes and pastries as they wanted with a clear conscience.

However, I would like to think that they are saying that nothing is off limits to us, if done in moderation. Fruit clearly has its nutritional value, but so do cakes and coffee. In fact, one could argue that cakes and coffee also have social merit. It’s a lot easier to relax with friends over coffee and cake than a banana or an orange!

I pray that today we may be able to enjoy a bit of what we like, while keeping an eye on moderation.

Amen