moldy peach

Hang on...you're conflating not building someone up with infecting someone with a disease which is bad for them. This is a disingenuous comparison in my opinion, and likely to make people not able to find positive things to say to others unnecessarily anxious.


"building someone up is not the same as saying positive things. In fact, insincere support and praise can lead to a person being unable to handle criticism."


"building someone up is about enriching someone’s life and challenging their comforts. 

It presents itself in many forms"


Yes, I agree. Building someone up isn't necessarily saying positive things, although it could be. It is possible to build up someone's confidence by saying positive things to them.

Are you saying then that the moldy peach in what you posted resembled insincere support? What you then go on to say about the negative effects of insincere support and praise I think lies beyond of the scope of my objection. Again, I agree, but it's a bit tangential.

If building someone up is about challenging their comforts, then that moldy peach is definitely challenging the comfort of the other healthy fruits in the fruit bowl! More importantly, the sight of the moldy peach also challenges the comfort of those who don't live in the fruit bowl. Us. Like the people who share the same house as the moldy peach, who walk past it each day, refusing to take responsibility for its pathetic demise. The moldier the peach becomes, the easier it is to justify not having to touch or engage with it.

Moldy fruits in the fruit bowl, left to become so putrid that they now only induce disgust instead of a nourishing pleasure, is a testament to why humans are faced with the kinds of challenges they are facing today. We are given beautiful things by nature all the time, but then repeatedly watch these things rot slowly without taking action, then dare cry out with a faux distress at the upsetting scene left for us when forced to clean up the product of our neglect and constant denial. Oh! What has become of these delicious fruits! Poor things! 

To me it feels like we are blaming the fruits for becoming moldy out of frustration that we failed to savour their beauty when we had the chance.