Hope. Soup. Chaos. A Poem & Blessings.
I’ve been thinking about this specific sentence a lot this weekend:
Society thrives in chaos, but that doesn’t mean you have to.
It’s really simple, right?
There’s just—there’s a lot of chaos out there.
Here’s the thing: You can choose not to lean into the chaos even if you are working towards a goal or a change.
Unless, you’re into chaos and the dopamine rush and all that and want to lean into the wildness and the distraction and the anger. Good for you!
But for me?
That chaos pulls me away from my goals, pulls me away from my needs, and distracts me from my yearnings.
But my wants and needs and yearnings? They are still there even when I’m distracted; they are just nestled underneath the chaos. You still have to feed your family even if you spend 15 hours watching YouTube videos about happy cottage living in Norway, right?
And that’s true about work, too? You have a goal (to make sure all hamsters in North America get really nice treats, to stop a war between manatees and dolphins, to make sure there is still grass somewhere in New Hampshire), but there are all these other things thrown at you and you lose your way to making that change. And you look around you and everyone else is adding to that chaos.
You don’t have to join in.
You don’t have to fight the way others fight. You don’t have to learn the way others learn. You can be the good person that you are, do the good that you do, away from all that chaos. One step. One action. One moment at a time.
Sometimes it’s brave not too be too consumed by the worry, to look away from the things that feed it.
“It is natural, in the face of uncertainty, to think ahead, into the future, trying to anticipate all the bad things that could happen or things that could go wrong. This is a natural response as the human mind tries to protect you by preparing for potential bad outcomes.” As Noelle McWard LCSW says on Psychology Today, “But while it is a natural response, it is not always a helpful one. In times of stress or distress, it is important to keep your focus on what is true and what you know, right now. This narrows your focus and attention and places it on what is, not what if.
“Your true power, resourcefulness, and resilience exist in the present moment, not your future worries. And when facing unknowns and uncertainties, it is impossible to accurately predict what will happen. Rather than fueling your anxiety by trying to guess and anticipate what could happen, accepting the unknown and focusing on what is will bring more calm and resourceful action.”
You’ve got this. We’ve got this, okay?
THE POEM
Hope is the thing with feathers
by Emily Dickinson
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,
And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.
I 've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
THE SOUP
I was really into this photo. I know it’s not soup, but it’s vegetables and I think they are so pretty.
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, this is from Irish Central
Hearty vegetable soup recipe
Serves: 4-6 people
Time: 30 min
Ingredients
- 50g pearl barley
- 2 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 leek, trimmed and finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery sticks, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1.2 liters vegetable or chicken stock (from cubes is fine)
- 2 tablespoons roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Brown soda bread and butter, to serve (optional).
Method
Put the pearl barley in a sieve and rinse well under cold running water. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onion, leek, carrots, celery and thyme. Sauté for 4-5 minutes until softened and just starting to catch a little color. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the stock into the vegetable mixture and add the rinsed barley. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables and barley are tender but still holding their shape.
Stir the parsley into the soup and ladle it into warmed bowls and serve with some slices of brown soda bread and butter, if liked.
For more Irish recipes visit Bord Bia.
THE PHOTO
THE BONUS
May the beauty of your life become more visible to you, that you may glimpse your wild divinity.
May the wonders of the earth call you forth from all your small, secret prisons, and set your feet free in the pastures of possibilities.
May the light of dawn anoint your eyes that you may behold what a miracle a day is.
May the liturgy of twilight shelter all your fears and darkness within the circle of ease.
May the angel of memory surprise you in bleak times with new gifts from the harvest of your vanished days.
May you allow no dark hand to quench the candle of hope in your heart.
May you discover a new generosity towards yourself, and encourage yourself to engage your life as a great adventure.
May the outside voices of fear and despair find no echo in you.
May you always trust the urgency and wisdom of your own spirit.
May the shelter and nourishment of all the good you have done, the love you have shown, and the suffering you have carried, awaken around you to bless your life a thousand times.
And when love finds the path to your door may you open like the earth to the dawn, and trust your every hidden color towards its nourishment of light.
A Blessing for Beauty by John O’Donohue
From "Beauty-The Invisible Embrace”