[Shirokuma Literature Club] ๐ฒ It's okay to have days with few ingredients.
Well then.
What should I do about the hot pot ingredients?
I'm not feeling very well, so it's difficult to prepare a lot of ingredients.
Usually, it would be pork, Chinese cabbage, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, white leeks, tofu...
And grated daikon radish with yuzu ponzu soy sauce.
That is our standard.
But in my current state, I can't even grate the daikon.
I suppose I'll ask my husband to do that.
I suddenly feel relieved that I can now write "ask my husband" so easily.
When I was young, I wasn't good at asking others for help.
Stuck with the assumption that I was the "responsible one," common among eldest children, I had ended up taking everything on myself before I knew it.
Relying on others is a nuisance, I must not show weaknessโ
Perhaps that is what I had been telling myself.
It really took a long time to break free from that.
Now, I can say when I'm not able to do something.
I feel it's okay to gently rely on others when I need to.
And thenโ
For every ingredient I've cut back on,
my husband's quiet voice saying, "That's enough,"
soaks in gently.
I smile to myself,
acknowledging that I am enough as I am.
Even with hot pot, it's okay to have days with fewer ingredients.
Without forcing everything in,
just the essentials can warm you through.
People are probably the same way.
Without carrying too much,
choosing just the "ingredients"
that are just right for me now,
I can quietly warm myself up.
Because there are things I lack,
there are days when I can notice
the kindness that is gently offered.
The aesthetics of subtraction,
that might be a bit of an exaggeration, though.
If I could live like that,
I feel like a slightly kinder tomorrow would come.
This piece was born from
the Shirokuma Literature Club's prompt, "What's in the hot pot?"
Starting from a moment in the kitchen, it unexpectedly became a time
to touch upon the changes within myself.
When there is a prompt, realizations I had tucked away deep inside sometimes suddenly peek out.
To everyone at the Shirokuma Literature Club, Komaki-san, and everyone who has read this far, thank you so much ๐
On a cold day, please do enjoy a delicious hot pot ๐ซ
#Essay
#DailyLife
#MattersOfTheHeart
#LivingWithoutPushingTooHard
#SelfAcceptance
#ShirokumaLiteratureClub
#WhatsInTheHotPot