Human soup is…well, if you ask me — which you did — it’s what we are when we’re between two things, which is, kind of, always.
The part where who we were isn’t really there anymore, and who we are becoming hasn’t quite solidified yet.
I got a little obsessed with the fact that caterpillars don’t just like, sleep and then wake up as butterflies. They literally dissolve. They become soup. Their bodies break down completely before reorganizing into something new, which is crazy. And horrifying. And…relatable.
There is an essay where I went very hard on this metaphor. At one point, it included a long, incredibly detailed aside about the “soup maker”* in Mexico. It was cut in the interest of not being gross and weird. They say kill your darlings, I guess.
Anyway, the point is: being soup is misunderstood and frankly, undervalued.
It’s where you are when you’re changing, growing, learning, but nothing looks impressive yet. When things feel messy, unclear, a little pointless, or like they’re falling apart instead of coming together.
Human Soup (the site) is a container for weird rambling inner monologues, half-formed thoughts, work feelings that don’t fit into productivity advice, and the stuff that shows up before you know what to do with it. Hopefully also for some half-decent writing.
No frameworks.
No five-step plans.
No pressure to emerge as a butterfly on a schedule.
Just language for the middle.
For becoming something else.
If you’re in between things, welcome.
*If you don’t know what that is, please don’t Google it.