there is an old recipe for healing I was given.
it is long winded and lacks simplicity
and there is always a long drawn-out introduction before you get to the good part
the kind that has you saying to yourself, “why is this so long? just tell me what I need to do.”
once you get past the part you want to forget
or want to know about or have any interest in understanding
you get your list of ingredients and warning
this recipe is monotonous, lengthy, difficult, and a little salty. but, it will be worth the effort in the end.
it starts with a cup of denial and a fistful of sadness
a few tablespoons of anger
and a piece of you that you don’t get to have back
you then have to sit and let that marinate for awhile or it just won’t turn out how it should
once that feels right add just a pinch of regret.
not too much though and that one is more of a preference
a bit of confusion to taste
and a surprising amount of realization that you are actually going to be okay
then add a quarter cup of courage-you’ve got lots to spare so don’t worry how much you use
add a pinch of satisfaction
and just a trace of emptiness but you won’t taste it in every bite
just every now and then you will just get a hint of it, but for some reason you don’t mind
once you are all done you can bake it for as long as you want
at whatever temperature you need it to be and honestly you might hate the way it tastes at first
at times you might think that all that work was for nothing
you can try again though. change a couple things and make it work for you.
you will look back at this recipe
and see it’s all in your own handwriting with things crossed out and rewritten several times over
you can use it as often as you need or set it to the side and let it be used again by someone else
when you have already healed and moved along.