A Simple Pot of Soup

One of my favorite quotes is "The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for." Today I'm thankful for soup. 

Due to some needless beauracracy and January being a lean month for freelance writers, I am literally at the bottom of the barrel as far as food goes. I've picked up some work
now, but am still waiting to get paid, so my cupboards are pretty bare.

I try to plan out my day's meals every morning, based on what I have in the cupboard. Today, it was hard not to be sad. I had just spent my last few dollars on eggs & bread. In my cabinet, I had one can of diced tomatoes, one sleeve of crackers, and one sprouting onion. In the freezer, I found 4 chicken drumsticks and the last of my frozen veggies. In the refrigerator, I had 2 baking potatoes and 7 carrots. So I pulled out my soup pot and went to work.

I had just read an article on how "souping" is actually a dieting thing now. Of course, the people doing this are eating fancier soups than what I was going to create today, but it seems that filling yourself up with water and veggies can keep your belly full enough to make you eat less. Unless you love soup like I do, then you might eat more.

As I peeled and chopped up my potatoes, carrots and onion, I thought about the story "Stone Soup," and how the man had tricked the villagers who refused to feed him into giving him everything he needed for a delicious vegetable soup. As I poured water into the pot, I thought about people in South Africa who are running out of water, and people in Puerto Rico right now who are drinking polluted water just to stay alive. As I added my ingredients, I thought of the  people in Haiti who were forced to eat mud after the earthquake. As I stirred the pot, my mind went to starving faces from the refugee camps all over the world full of war survivors.

Suddenly, I felt very thankful for my soup, which will likely feed me for a couple of days. By then, I'll have money coming in and won't have to be hungry anymore, at least for awhile.

The U.S. is in crisis, and people are so negative, only looking at what is wrong with their lives. They've forgotten that all over the world, there are people who are praying for a simple pot of soup.