I wanted to explain the name of this web-log, out of that bit of stubborn pride that comes from having thought deeply about a weird name.

I called this web-log a Word Soup, because making a soup is one of my favorite metaphors.

A soup has a lot of elements that come together over time. You layer different flavors as you go, and there’s a process of checking in on what the soup needs as the flavors deepen and change through cooking. Salt here, more spices there, maybe you need to add a potato to save the soup from the fact that you over-salted.

I got this image from my Tai Chi teacher Don Miller, who used it to talk about the process of building internal energy. His teacher Uncle Bill would go out in the mornings and get his energy “soup” ready for the day. A little bit of grounding or energizing, checking in along the way until he had all the different energies he needed for the day.

So, this web-log is a Word Soup in the hope that all the little bits I add over time will come together into a unified whole.