Life Recipe #2: A Warming Soup for Winter Enthusiasm

In the darker months, enthusiasm can slip away almost unnoticed. The cold dampens the body, the greyness seeps into the soul. A simple remedy stands close at hand: a warm, hearty soup.

Choose a few seasonal vegetables—carrots, potatoes, leeks, perhaps a little celery. Chop them gently, as if you were coaxing their life into the pot. Add water, a dash of salt, a spoon of oil. Let it simmer slowly, filling the room with warmth. Additionally, if it's in the winter-months, choose "light baring" and "warmth-baring" vegetables and spices:

🌞 Light-Bearing Vegetables

These are vegetables that carry and shine back something of the sun’s light. They often grow upward or bear radiant colors, giving a feeling of brightness and levity.

• Carrot (deep orange, gathers light into root)
• Leek (slender, upright, carries freshness)
• Onion (concentrates light into sharp clarity)
• Fennel (aromatic, airy, almost sun-like in form)
• Parsnip (pale gold sweetness, luminous quality)
• Yellow/Red Peppers (direct sun-colors, uplifting)

🔥 Warmth-Bearing Vegetables & Spices

These foods enliven the inner fire and circulation, helping the body overcome chill or heaviness.

• Vegetables:
  • Ginger root
  • Garlic
  • Radish
  • Horseradish
  • Pumpkin or squash (round, sun-soaked warmth)
• Spices & Herbs:
  • Turmeric
  • Cinnamon
  • Cloves
  • Nutmeg
  • Cumin
  • Rosemary
  • Thyme
  • Bay leaf

How to Use Them

• A winter soup could balance light-bearers (carrot, leek, parsnip) with warmth-bearers (garlic, ginger, rosemary).
• The effect is both uplifting and kindling: you feel lighter inside while also warmed and steadied.

When you eat, feel the heat spread through you. Notice how the steam and flavor awaken not just hunger, but a quiet joy: life is good; I can begin again.

Try it tonight: Make one pot of warming soup this week. Share it if you can, or enjoy it in silence. Let it be more than food: let it be enthusiasm served warm.