Chicken Soup for the Soul

Lessons from a good soup. Some resonant thoughts from last year I stumbled across today. It looks like I'll be making some soup.

Life has felt extra hard lately-

Stretched beyond my physical and emotional capacity,

Bound to the pain,

Trying to pull myself away,

But I'm sinking into the void.

Submerged in the darkness,

Waltzing with my own dreaming demons

Afraid of their revival

Though, I allow myself to feel it all.

Whatever needs to show up, I'm here to meet it

Even if it smothers my ability to see the little joys.

I'm floating through the abyss,

Trying to hold onto these fleeting moments

Full of this impending fear that it will all come to an end

I am stuck in this cynical cycle.

I am burnt out.

How do I expand again,

To not be overtaken by this gravity of pain?

How do I remember my tools and my joy?

Just when I cannot bear it any longer,

I am reawakened upon my first sip of Tom Ka Gai

A homemade dish for the soul.

Creamy coconut delicacies soothe my tender heart,

Ease my disembodied mind,

Purify my aching body.

Life is too short, Mom says,

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Allow the beads of perspiration to pour out over the Thai chilis rather than the little hiccups.

One bite of buttery cremini and I am reminded that my life is as juicy as this mushroom.

The crunch of a sweet bell pepper tells me to bite harder through that which holds me back,

Just get to the next bite, let it take you.

Hints of lemongrass reminds me to stop and smell the flowers.

Tender chicken leaves me appreciative of the lives sacrificed for our nourishment.

Beloved soup, may you guide me and help me remember.

The elements of the soup bring me back into my body.

A misplaced state of presence

Momentarily lost but not forgotten

Lingering a little too long in the imprisonment of mind

Deterred from the beauty that's all around

The soup reminds me that pleasure cannot be felt without you, there

So, arrive.

The water is warm,

And the broth is, too.

Thank you to the elements that feed me

And to the love that fuels me.

I am only human.

Some days I am consumed by my demons.

But my strength resides in my ability to nourish them away,

This time powered by the medicine from a bowl of chicken soup for the soul.