Look at the chickpea in the pot and how

It leaps when heated by the stove right now

While being boiled it rises constantly

Up to the top. Listen to the chick-pea:

‘Why are you boiling me now, after

you have paid for me? Why treat me as you do?’

The cook then hits it with her spoon to say:

‘Boil properly! Don’t try to jump away!

I’m not doing this because I’m harming you,

But so you’ll taste good and be wholesome too”

Masnavi of Rumi, translated by Mojaddedi

2020 often felt like we were stewing in a closed pot of lockdowns, restrictions and uncertainty. So the question now is have we boiled enough?! Are we still hard and raw, armoured and unyielding, or are we cooking and becoming softer in our core

On starting embodiment practices we often find ourselves inhibited in many parts. Shame, grief, apathy, anger and other shadow parts become painfully apparent. With time and attention, energy that is caught in these stress patterns and trauma responses begins to release and a liberating creative current emerges. That current can be used to further self-growth or cycle back into new patterns of self-sabotage.

So in these troubled times can we accept being cooked, I wonder.