Stone Soup…a lesson for 2026

At the beginning of a new year where things are already tumultuous and overwhelming, and many folks are feeling the economic burdens of our current situation, this story seems more than relevant.

Stone Soup
Once, a hungry traveler arrived in a small village where everyone was struggling. Each household had only a little food, and fearing there wouldn’t be enough, no one felt able to share.
The traveler filled a pot with water, placed a stone inside, and set it over the fire. Curious villagers gathered as the water began to boil.
“This will be stone soup,” the traveler said. “It’s good, but even better with just a few small additions.”
One villager offered a carrot.
Another added an onion.
Someone else brought a potato, a handful of herbs, a pinch of salt.
Each contribution was small, but together they transformed the pot.
Soon, the soup was rich and fragrant, enough for everyone to enjoy. The villagers sat together, sharing a warm meal and good company. When the pot was empty, the stone was lifted out — unchanged.
The traveler smiled and went on their way.
And the village remembered:
when everyone brings a little, there is more than enough for all.

The thing about this story is…it isn’t just about food.

In a world where the costs are rising above the income increases for a vast majority of the population, and gap between the wealthy and the poor is getting increasingly large, we should all turn our attentions and efforts to stone soup.

The concept harkens back to how things used to be. Before written histories or before colonisation and the earliest beginnings of capitalism, we worked together as communities. We shared resources. We  took care of each other.  And we all succeeded. We all benefitted, and our communities not only survived, we thrived.

We’ve become separated from from our neighbors. We allow ourselves to turn away from the plight of those less fortunate or most vulnerable in our community. Mainly because we have been fed the narrative that they are inferior, unclean or somehow  lesser. But they are the ones we need to be uplifting. Who knows what skills, experience and knowledge they have to share to further the community.

And maybe now is the time we all return to this concept. Not just for food. For all our shared resources. Take care of our community and our tribe. Support local and support one another. In a time of economic depression, we need to band together and we could use a little stone soup.