🌈🍲 Stone Soup, Vancouver 2025 🌧️❤️
By Tina Winterlik aka Zipolita
The rain hadn’t stopped for days — the kind that seeps into your shoes and soul. Granville Street shimmered with puddles and neon reflections. The city buzzed with expensive cars, flashing signs, and the quiet sound of people trying not to see one another.
On a patch of sidewalk near an old café, a man named Gabe set down a dented pot. Once a chef, now unhoused after losing his job during the pandemic, he’d written on a cardboard sign:
“Making soup. Bring what you can.”
At first, people hurried by. But slowly, one by one, the city began to stop.
🌟 Ten Strangers and a Pot of Hope
1. Maya – A Two-Spirit Cree artist, painting murals under bridges. She dropped in a single potato.
“Every meal’s a story,” she said. “Let’s tell a good one.”
2. Jackson – A Black man in a wheelchair, once a warehouse worker. He offered a handful of lentils.
“Soup’s better than dry,” he grinned.
3. Rosie – An older trans woman and former jazz singer. She added bouillon cubes.
“I can’t sing in clubs anymore,” she said, “but I can still share warmth.”
4. Theo – A laid-off software engineer, still in his Patagonia vest. He placed kale in the pot.
“Didn’t think I’d ever stop and help,” he said.
5. Leona – A Musqueam Elder, calm and kind. She sprinkled in healing herbs.
“These plants remind the soup to be kind,” she smiled.
6. Karim – A Syrian refugee and delivery cyclist. He brought a tomato and a lemon.
“In my country, soup means new beginnings.”
7. Becky – A former social worker, tired and displaced by rising rents. She added garlic.
“For the soul — and for the ones still fighting.”
8. Arthur – A retired stockbroker, lonely in his luxury condo. He dropped in two carrots.
“My wife made soup every Sunday,” he said softly.
9. Jaden – A teenager, cold and restless, handed over a can of beans.
“Hope it helps,” he murmured.
10. Anika – A nurse from the Downtown Eastside Clinic. She poured in hot water from her thermos.
“This’ll get it boiling,” she said. “We’ll share it fair.”
🍲 When the Soup Was Ready...
Steam rose, fragrant and real. Ten strangers stood shoulder to shoulder, eating, laughing, remembering what it means to belong.
Gabe stirred the pot, smiling. “Everyone gave something,” he said.
Theo nodded. “Funny — the best meal I’ve had all year started with nothing.”
Across the street, the café lights flickered back on. The owner stepped outside with a basket of buns.
“Next time,” she said, “I’ll bring the bread.”
And for the first time in a long time, Vancouver didn’t feel quite so hungry. 🌧️🍞❤️
💭 Reflective Questions: Stone Soup, Vancouver 2025
- How did each person’s small act change the outcome of the story?
- Which character did you relate to most — and why?
- Vancouver is often divided by wealth and circumstance. How can small gestures rebuild community?
- What does it mean to truly see someone instead of looking away?
- The Mayor of Mission recently joined the Union Gospel Mission, speaking with people face-to-face — not for cameras, but as human to human. What can other leaders learn from that?
- How might our city look different if compassion, not profit, guided decisions?
- “Everyone gave something.” What can you offer — time, food, empathy, or voice?
- What “empty pots” exist in Vancouver — places where community could grow again?
- How can shared traditions or food help heal divisions?
- If you hosted your own “Stone Soup,” who would you invite — and what would you hope might change?
🌧️ Author’s Reflection
Vancouver is full of people like those in Stone Soup — dreamers, survivors, helpers, and healers. It shouldn’t take a crisis or a pot of soup to remind us that compassion is the heart of any real community.
When I saw the Mayor of Mission out there with Union Gospel Mission, talking to people human to human, not as a publicity stunt but as a genuine act of care — it gave me hope. That’s leadership rooted in empathy.
Meanwhile, our City of Vancouver mayor cuts hundreds of jobs while celebrating photo ops and high-profile events. Maybe what our city needs isn’t another photoshoot or FIFA plan — but a pot of soup, ten strangers, and a reminder that we rise by lifting each other.
Because real leadership doesn’t hide behind press releases. It steps into the rain. 🌧️❤️🍲
No comments:
Post a Comment