Ok so yesterday t pointed out that I seem to be "in the soup" right now. I found that a peculiar turn of phrase, had never heard it before, and have been thinking upon it. I like the food analogy, actually, so will run with it:

Ok so what is soup? You put vegetables, rice or pasta, etc in boiling water to cook. They change from raw, hard things to soft, cooked things. So if I am "in the soup" then I am one of those vegetables; let's say, a potato.

Now all I've ever known how to be is a raw potato, right? That's all I've ever been, so it's all I know how to be. Now I find myself in this boiling water that is change. It hurts. I'm feeling all twisted up inside. At some point, I realize that even though I have no idea what I'm going to be when I come out of the water, I know what I won't be - I know I won't ever be that raw potato again. I've already changed too much. I'm feeling like I don't know WHAT I am. I'm not that raw potato anymore, know I can never BE that raw potato again, and I'm not sure yet what I'm GOING to be when I come out of the boiling water either. So I'm having a bit of an identity crisis at this stage. This is the point in the recipe where the instructions say "turn heat to low and simmer." This potato's not jumping out of the pot, it just needs to simmer for a bit on low, and that's what this current break from therapy is.

I like that.

[Can't Stop Crying]

very insightful....I like the analogy!

[HazelGirl]

Hmm...maybe you'll be mashed potatoes! I like mashed potatoes

[blur]

i am curious as to what your T meant by that. are you planning on asking her to elaborate on it? i wonder if she meant something similar to being "in the thick of things", sort of like things are really heating up and you want to go on the back burner to cool down a bit. i'm not sure what i am. maybe a tomato sitting on the cutting board who doesn't want to get in that dang pot. i think i'll chill out and be gazpacho instead.

I should have asked her what she meant... as so often happens in therapy, I don't always hear everything she says right away.... y'know? It was only later that the phrase jumped out at me.

[SeekerOfLife]

Artemis--thanks for your posts. They always resonate with me.

[JustShakey]

Mmmmm. I want potato soup now. With tomatoes and sweetcorn in there too. And basil. Omnomnom...

[Partless]

artemis-within, haha, thanks for that interesting metaphor.

I can't wait to eat you when you're done.

[Wren_]

I've always taken it to mean being in difficulty ...
I like that analogy though ... I'm not sure how potatos cope but I know for us being dumped in boiling water and even simmering can be very difficult