Food For Thought

The Spaghetti Metaphor

This post is maybe a little more "out there" than my normal posts, but I really felt like I needed to share it with the world, in hopes that it may help someone out in BlogLand. This year it's my goal to listen to the Universe (or the Spirit, promptings, God, intuition, etc.) a little bit more, and be cynical a little bit less. Why? I'm not really sure, but I know we all have the power to make a positive impact, and I guess I just feel like it's time for me to do things a bit differently. I just want to make my mark, the way I believe it needs to be made in this crazy world. 

The other day I was having a literal low blood sugar moment. Ironically having low blood sugar often opens my mind to understanding things a little more clearly--strange phenomenon, but it happens a lot. I'd been struggling earlier in the week with several things including my darling children and a very long Christmas vacation, and I'd just about had it. I was nearly ready to give up, when in a moment of clarity I thought about spaghetti. I know, I'm such a foodie that I even solve my problems with food based metaphors.

Here's my thought: When spaghetti is uncooked, it's raw, brittle, unyielding and is often not easy to break. While some of those qualities are good, if we want to eat the spaghetti, we have to break it to get it into the pot and cook it, so it becomes soft and edible. Are you with me? 

Spaghetti only becomes soft once it's submerged into hot, boiling water. After a few minutes in the hot water, it fulfills its purpose, becoming soft so we can eat it.

So how does that connect to the real world? Or to fulfilling my destiny? Or making a positive impact on my children, family and the world?

When I (we) can be stubborn and unyielding like uncooked spaghetti- we also split, break apart, snap, etc. And like spaghetti, if I (we) don't allow myself into the hot water (trials, being tested, having bad things happen, etc.) I will never achieve my purpose in life. Your purpose is different than mine, however, I believe we each have unique reasons for being on Earth, and are given unique experiences that have the potential to make a powerful, positive impact. 

 This year my goal is to become a little more liked cooked spaghetti: to yield a little more, bend without breaking, create a little more flexibility for myself and toward others, and to create a little more beauty in my world.