12/01/2025: A Bowl of Chili
Sometimes people fight. They say things they shouldn’t and things get blown out of proportion or misunderstood. And then you’re standing there, putting some leftover chili in a gigantic glass bowl and there’s just enough overflow for one extra serving.
Naturally, your mind goes to who you might want to share it with, only to realize you haven’t spoken to that person in days. Then you realize that sometimes a nonverbal peace offering can set a conversation in motion. And then you finally say the words that needed to be said, all because of a small gesture.
Yes, it’s easier to point fingers or ignore the issues, but sometimes it’s more important to create an open line of communication in order to move forward at all, regardless of who thinks who is wrong. Yes, life is also short, but that doesn’t mean that we have to put up with things that don’t serve us or let things stay the way they are and have always been.
It can mean, however, that we should always try our best to share our thoughts and feelings and to always strive to improve our relationships. You should love people for who they are, including yourself, because at the end of the day that’s all you have the power to do. The rest is up to others, and maybe sometimes they just need a little help or a little more light shed on a situation so that they can see where you’re coming from. And as long as they listen, and as long as they genuinely try, then we should be grateful.
The hardest thing to do is make an honest effort to understand one another, to grow. And being a human alone is an awfully difficult task. Life can oftentimes be so heavy, especially when we’re at odds with people we care about. And it’s okay to be supportive, but it’s also okay to be real and say that you deserve more from someone. If they truly love you, they will hear you, and they will rise to meet you. If not, you know where you stand.
We all deserve love and respect at the end of the day, and it’s hard to know everything everyone goes through or how people best express themselves or cope with hardship until you try to understand them better. But the beauty of this life is that we weather so many storms, and in each passing season, we have the chance to improve, to see things in a different light. We can choose to open ourselves to greater understanding, and in turn—if we’re lucky—we can open ourselves up to better and long-lasting relationships with ourselves and others along the way.