Personal Soup

As we go through life, each of us is making something that amounts to our Personal Soup. Stay with me here…. The broth is the essential “me” – our intelligence, our talents, our DNA. It’s the base, the foundation of our lives. Everything we do is infused with this; it is the unique essence of who each one of us is.

At times life makes the broth thicken, or get salty. It might become watered down and weak for a while. When cold, it can be unappealing. The essence of what life makes of us is reflected in our broth.

Events of life contribute to this pot of experience. Tough moments are thrown in like so many bits of bargain meat – the test you didn’t pass, the dog who died, the car that left you stranded. The sweet moments of life flavor the pot, too – your first love, that perfect Christmas, your child or your mom. Those moments linger like the warmth of cinnamon.

soup

The pot is peppered with the bitter reminder of betrayals. Someone you trusted used you, lied about you, cheated on you, or worse. And then things come your way that are hard, just plain hard like dried legumes, and they are tossed into your pot as well: a medical diagnosis, divorce, abuse, an accident, or anything that needs a long recovery.

Your broth is flavored with jobs you’ve had and things you’ve learned, people you’ve known and places you’ve been. The memories are all in there swirling around, because they have become a part of you.

Every day when you get a ladle of your cosmic soup, you never know what you will get. Will you have to confront tough memories of things that broke your heart? Will it all be sweet, tender carrots with a hint of cinnamon? Perhaps a mix of back then and right now?

Time passes, and life simmers for all of us. Eventually the tough things become digestible. Sharp things in the pot lose their edge, and yes, even the lovely sweet overtones become lost or muted. This is the passage of time working in our lives and our hearts. One day, you’ll get a ladle that breaks your heart all over again. Years later, the same random components will be palatable memories.

If you’re patient and maybe a little bit lucky, even those rock hard beans will change from a pebble in your shoe to nourishment in your spoon. Buon appetito!