chicken soup for the soul.
you've heard of these books, right? even if you've never actually opened one, you've heard of them. but do you know how many chicken soup books exist in this world?
i doubt it.
i doubt it because in the time it would take for you to come up with a number, that number would have become obsolete. because with each passing minute, in some quiet, fertile place, another chicken soup book is born.
i think there is something really powerful in the supposition underlying these books -- that souls are highly specific and custom in design. that souls come in a multiplicity of affiliations. that it would be wrong to lump together the souls of scrapbookers and NASCAR fanatics, because they wouldn't find nourishment and healing in the same recipe of chicken soup.
my mom and i used to read the stories out loud together before bed when i was younger. we got through many a tough time in commiseration with those who submitted entries - those souls with wounds and scars like ours. i liked feeling like a was a member to whatever particular soul group we were reading about at the time. strength in numbers. allies in experiences.
and as i learn to love this new city, to be on my own, to take care of myself, i am learning the right combination of ingredients for my chicago soul's chicken soup.
i got to go home this past weekend. after only 3 weeks of being away, i found my way home again. so soon, you ask? well before you assume that i already had enough of this big city and took off at a swift sprint towards virginia -- i went home for work. we convened as a national organization in rapidan, virginia, nestled into the beautiful blue ridge mountains that i missed so much.
my soul found peace in the community around me as i got to know each and every site coordinator and staff member in the national LIFT network. to know that we are all bound together by the same passion for people and mission to combat poverty and expand opportunity gave my soul a much needed lift. (pun intended). not only was i "home" in the geographical sense, but i truly felt at home with the like-minded people that surrounded me. there were moments where i looked down, half expecting to be hovering inches above the ground, my soul felt so fluffed and full of pride for those i can gladly call my colleagues.
i am in such good company.
after training i spent the weekend with family and friends in richmond -- needless to say, my soul was further fluffed and rejuvenated.
if there's ever a volume titled chicken soup for alli rosen's soul -- and truly, with the rate their pumping them out, it's only a matter of time -- it would not be filled with pages of inspirational stories. if there were to be an anthology chronicling the contents of my soul, i'd much like it to include things far more tangible, but no less inspirational: photographs (ideally scratch and sniff) of meals i have prepared and enjoyed with and for loved ones. sound bites of hearty laughs, my father's harmonica, my mother's advice. vivid descriptions of the perfect cuddle temperature, how it feels to discover someplace new, find something lost, enjoy a comfortable silence. and pages more of the things i love that deserve cataloging.
i have vowed to focus more time each day to giving my soul a good fluff here and there. we must all devote more energy to self care -- to doses of chicken soup throughout the day. it keeps us sane. it keeps us whole.
it keeps our souls fed.
blogging and jogging are the newest ingredients to my chicago soul's test recipe.
so far, so good.
you've heard of these books, right? even if you've never actually opened one, you've heard of them. but do you know how many chicken soup books exist in this world?
i doubt it.
i doubt it because in the time it would take for you to come up with a number, that number would have become obsolete. because with each passing minute, in some quiet, fertile place, another chicken soup book is born.
i think there is something really powerful in the supposition underlying these books -- that souls are highly specific and custom in design. that souls come in a multiplicity of affiliations. that it would be wrong to lump together the souls of scrapbookers and NASCAR fanatics, because they wouldn't find nourishment and healing in the same recipe of chicken soup.
my mom and i used to read the stories out loud together before bed when i was younger. we got through many a tough time in commiseration with those who submitted entries - those souls with wounds and scars like ours. i liked feeling like a was a member to whatever particular soul group we were reading about at the time. strength in numbers. allies in experiences.
and as i learn to love this new city, to be on my own, to take care of myself, i am learning the right combination of ingredients for my chicago soul's chicken soup.
i got to go home this past weekend. after only 3 weeks of being away, i found my way home again. so soon, you ask? well before you assume that i already had enough of this big city and took off at a swift sprint towards virginia -- i went home for work. we convened as a national organization in rapidan, virginia, nestled into the beautiful blue ridge mountains that i missed so much.
my soul found peace in the community around me as i got to know each and every site coordinator and staff member in the national LIFT network. to know that we are all bound together by the same passion for people and mission to combat poverty and expand opportunity gave my soul a much needed lift. (pun intended). not only was i "home" in the geographical sense, but i truly felt at home with the like-minded people that surrounded me. there were moments where i looked down, half expecting to be hovering inches above the ground, my soul felt so fluffed and full of pride for those i can gladly call my colleagues.
i am in such good company.
after training i spent the weekend with family and friends in richmond -- needless to say, my soul was further fluffed and rejuvenated.
if there's ever a volume titled chicken soup for alli rosen's soul -- and truly, with the rate their pumping them out, it's only a matter of time -- it would not be filled with pages of inspirational stories. if there were to be an anthology chronicling the contents of my soul, i'd much like it to include things far more tangible, but no less inspirational: photographs (ideally scratch and sniff) of meals i have prepared and enjoyed with and for loved ones. sound bites of hearty laughs, my father's harmonica, my mother's advice. vivid descriptions of the perfect cuddle temperature, how it feels to discover someplace new, find something lost, enjoy a comfortable silence. and pages more of the things i love that deserve cataloging.
i have vowed to focus more time each day to giving my soul a good fluff here and there. we must all devote more energy to self care -- to doses of chicken soup throughout the day. it keeps us sane. it keeps us whole.
it keeps our souls fed.
blogging and jogging are the newest ingredients to my chicago soul's test recipe.
so far, so good.
Love it.
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