We all remember that famous line that Tom Hanks delivered in Forrest Gump:
“Mama always said, ‘Life is like a bowl of soup. A bunch of crap floating around and sometimes it tastes good, sometimes it don’t.’ ”
Now that I think about it, I may have just made that up in my head and recited it in the unforgettable Gump accent, but I think you get where I’m going.
Everybody loves, hates, or at least is aware that soup exists. Let’s dive deeper into considering soup for a quick moment. As we do, I encourage you to do so from the mindset of that last category of people, those who are simply aware that it exists.
Soup 101
What makes up a soup? Essentially, there is liquid…and stuff. The liquid could be stock, broth, water, cream, or some combination of any of those. The “stuff” could be vegetables, meat, or perhaps even fruit. When the liquid and stuff gets combined, there is typically some kind of seasoning, accent flavors, and the resulting concoction can be served either hot or cold.
Now that we are all on the same page about what soup is, you may be asking, “Why the fu…futsu squash are we talking about soup?” Glad you asked. I see a great deal of similarities between soup and the mind.
I imagine the liquid of soup to be the general mindset we have in the moment. It may be sweet, sour, perhaps a little bitter, and the consistency is thicker, or heavier, at times and lighter at others. We likely have our default or go to mindset for certain situations but, like soup, we have the opportunity to switch things up if we want to try something different.
The stuff (vegetables, meat, etc.) are all of the thoughts and things that are bouncing around inside our head at any given time. The way we chop up, or interpret, the stuff is up to us and may vary depending on what our intentions are and the proficiency of our knife skills. I think of knife skills as the techniques we use to support a healthy mind and our emotional well-being. There are a variety knives to choose from and some are better suited for certain situations than others.
Preparation
Mediation is like my chef’s knife, in that I can use it in a variety of different ways. From how I grip it to the speed of each slice, dice, and chop or even turning it on its side, there are quite a few techniques wrapped up in this one blade. No matter which knife we use or how we decide to chop things up, we become more proficient the more that we practice each technique and can also become more confident in our understanding of the techniques that are most appropriate in the moment.
Once the liquid and stuff (aka: our thoughts and the mindset they are stewing in) are in the pot, the seasoning and accent flavors we add can provide a great deal of variation in how the soup will taste. I think of these as the people and attitudes we surround ourselves with. They can drastically change how things turn out, for good or bad, and it’s important to be intentional about which flavors and how much we add of each.
By this point, you’re either on the same page as me, thinking about making soup, or maybe both. The moral of the story…As we embark on the preparation of mind soup, be sure to practice your knife skills regularly and don’t be afraid to play around a bit (with the ingredients, don’t play with knives!). Also, remember to be mindful of the seasoning and know that some flavors will might clash, but if you’re afraid to use any seasoning, your soup will surely be bland.
PS: If you’re into food metaphors, here’s some more food for though about Intentional Authenticity.
PPS: If you want to learn more about actual (not metaphorical) soup, check out Understanding Soup from Chef’s Notes.
