Whats at your core?

A few weeks ago while at a wine tasting with my friend Jonathan, meeting a lot of nice people, tasting good wine and enjoying my time, I remembered something that happened over 40 years ago. I was invited for wine tasting by a friend that worked in a winery. In the winter, they would take a 500 liter barrel of wine and leave it outdoors in the freezing winter weather for a day.  Once frozen solid, a hole is drilled to the center where all the essence of the wine was. The aroma and taste of the grapes was concentrated in the middle surrounded by frozen ice. As we savored the thick syrupy wine concentrate, we pondered our future, excited as we considered the possibilities of what lies ahead, our conquests and achievements, with the optimism of youth, never expecting anything but great things to happen.

Compare that to life, going through struggles and ups and downs, with every challenge we become a barrel of frozen wine. Our essence concentrating at the core, at the centre of who and what we are. If someone drills to the your centre, what will they find? Is there a sweet essence that delights all that see, smell and taste of it or is there frozen ice all the way through. No distinction between the core and the outside or a hidden delight that entices all who come in contact with it, leaving a memory that lingers for decades to be brought back and savored in the memories of all who come in contact with it.

As I enjoyed the company of my friend Jonathan and our moment together at the wine tasting, I found myself asking, if life takes me outside in the freezing weather what will be at my core...