Chilled Broccoli Basil Soup and Loving Ourselves

I am in the practice of using everything to lift. I like the usefulness of this practice because it is a direct route to loving ourselves. In my case, I was clocked in the head with the reality that I had been abandoning myself for a lot of my life. I did this by depending on outward love for validation that I was loveable. If my husband loved and accepted me, then I was ok. If he didn't, then something was wrong or flawed in me. A big part of our culture is based on this. You live a certain way, society accepts you and you feel like you belong. You look a certain way, then you are beautiful and successful. When you look outward into the world, this is a common message. No wonder when my husband and I split, I spun out. I had no legs to stand on because I gave those up a long time ago when I decided other people would decided how loveable I am. The big gift however was I was given the opportunity of my experience to see this and do something about it. I could trace this belief that validation happens outside of myself over many personal events in my life. But I wanted to move deeper into this idea after I understood that pattern I was working, and get to the part inside myself I could expand, so looking outward for certainty or love no longer was needed. This practice does not mean that I do not mess up anymore or become perfect however. If anything, it has expanded my compassion for the world by leaps and bound because now I see how we all get the opportunity to do this work every breath we take. So now I get to love my mess-ups as much as my achievements because they all are experiences on the same road, to the same destination. There is an immense relief for me to let go of the idea of perfection, and instead go towards acceptance. On this self-created stage of life, with all the actors and props of my own volition, I get to choose where to place my focus. Is it a disaster I am in the middle of, or is it an opportunity? Even if it seems like a disaster at first, I will be tender with myself while redirecting my focus, just as I am tender with my daughter when she falls down playing....

I made this soup for my CSK last week. Chilled soups are an easy, light food when it is hot outside. I pulled the mason jar filled with this soup out for lunch for a good part of last week. One distinction I make though, is chilled soup is not cold soup. Chilled in my vocabulary means cooler than room temperature but not cold. I take my soup out of the fridge about 30 minutes before serving, which allows the flavors to be more pronounced. It was incredibly easy making this soup. I love broccoli and basil together. Turns out that in soup it is very well paired.
You can double or trip this batch easily! Add a dollop of creme fraiche on top for a special garnish.

Broccoli Basil Soup
4 cups

2 cups water
2 cups lightly steamed broccoli (I kept the stems on)
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tbls. olive oil
1/2 cups fresh basil leaves (7-8 leaves)

Put in blender and blend until smooth; about 1-2 minutes.