Apr. 18, 2022

Stone Soup

I was recently reminded of a wonderful story that we read in school when I was a child. It was called Stone Soup. There are many versions of the story now, some of which have distorted the original, simplistic meaning. For those that may not have read it, the gist of it is a traveler visits a very poor village. They are not very welcoming to the stranger because they are afraid they will be expected to extend hospitality to him and they barely have enough food for themselves. The traveler explains that he wants nothing from them. In fact, he wants to make them a very special stone soup. The villagers are skeptical, but hungry, so they watch him very closely. He begins to boil a pot of water and puts the stone in the bottom. He gets very animated about how good the soup is smelling but casually mentions it would be even better with a little cabbage. One of the villagers volunteers a small cabbage and it is added to the soup. This scenario plays out with each villager adding just a little bit: a potato, onion, carrots, etc. Eventually, with everyone’s contributions, the soup is ready, and they all enjoy the feast of “magical” stone soup. It is a wonderful story about sharing and how everyone benefits from each of us contributing just a little bit.

Several years ago, I made the decision to downsize my life. My wardrobe, my possessions had all gotten a bit out of control. In our society, we are encouraged to subscribe to retail therapy to make ourselves happy, but I wasn’t happy. I was suffocating. I started realizing just how much of my wardrobe and my possessions went unused and how much money I was wasting on things I didn’t need. I started to see the value in having only a few quality items that I used and loved, rather than just having more. So, I started with my wardrobe. If I didn’t love it or wear it, it went into a donate pile and then bagged up. My son looked in and asked what I was doing so, I explained it and then challenged him to do the same. He laughed, but I said, “I’ll bet that you can find ten t-shirts that you don’t wear in less than five minutes.” He walked out and came back five minutes later, with 15 t-shirts and a big smile on his face. He put them in a pile and left.

I kept working and a little while later he came back with shorts, jeans, and sweatshirts that he didn’t wear. It was enough to fill a bag and then some. Between us, we came up with eight large, black garbage bags of shoes and clothing. And our closets still looked plenty full. I did the same process with linens, coats and jackets, and books. All of it was donated to people who needed it more than we did.

The following spring, I stumbled on an idea for Lent. It was to give up one item per day to be donated. I loved it! So often when we hear of “giving something up for Lent” it is a temporary sacrifice of chocolate, coffee, alcohol, etc. with the full intention of going back to it after Easter. But this idea was about making a sacrifice and really giving up things. I was actually shocked at how easy it was for me to give up another 40 items after the “purge.” And, no, I didn’t go shopping to replace things. I gave myself a rule that, if I wanted to buy something, two like items had to go. One new sweater in, two old sweaters out. The same rule applied to shoes, shirts, pants, dresses, etc. I no longer shopped for the heck of it, shopping became purposeful, and I realized how much money I was saving, and I was addicted to minimizing my life.

It always amazes me that I can still give things up even after all the years of doing this. But it reminds me that even when things may look scarce, there is always more to share. And when we share from our scarcity, as well as our bounty, the soup and life is so much more satisfying for everyone. Be brave. Be kind.