Boiling Over

 

Boiling Over

A chef friend of mine filled a pasta pot with water and put it on the stove to boil. Distracted by other meal preparations, she didn’t notice when it began to boil. Seeing bubbles, a kitchen helper called out that the water was about to boil over. The experienced chef told him that the pot would not boil over unless there was pasta in it. 

This story reminded me of a classic Italian folktale, Strega Nona, retold and illustrated by Tomie de Paola. Strega Nona (Grandmother Witch) cures the villagers' warts, headaches, and heartaches with her magic potions and loving care. An aging Strega Nona hires Big Anthony (who doesn’t pay attention) to help her with her house and garden. Strega Nona warns Big Anthony (who doesn’t pay attention), “The one thing you must never do, is to touch the pasta pot.”  

Day after day, Big Anthony works and Strega Nona helps the villagers with her magic. One day, Big Anthony hears Strega Nona singing to her pasta pot. Magically, the pot fills with pasta! When it’s full, Strega Nona sings “Enough, enough, pasta pot. I have my pasta nice and hot.” Then she blows three kisses. 

Big Anthony is amazed. He tells the villagers about the magic pot but they don’t believe him. So, when Strega Nona goes to see a friend, he invites them to see for themselves. He remembers the words Strega Nona sang to start the pot boiling, and his friends fill up. When seconds and even thirds are served, Big Anthony repeats the words BUT because he had not paid attention, he does not blow the three kisses. The pot boils over and pasta chases Big Anthony and his friends down into the town. 

These past few years,  our emotional “pots” have been boiling over. Uncertainty, fueled by contradictory and inflammatory news stories and a world unnerved by climate disasters, mass shootings, and a global pandemic, has caused anger to spill over in homes, communities, cyberspace, and nations. Changing or misleading information spreads like wildfire causing emotions to boil over, dividing families and friends 

A pot of plain water will not boil over. Boiling causes water to evaporate. But adding salt or starch (like pasta) will cause an untended pot to boil up and over onto the stove. Our emotional pots have been boiling with worries. Add heat, in the form of uncertainty and fear, and our boiling emotions erupt into anger and hate. 

Luckily for Big Anthony, Strega Nona returns to sing the magic words AND blow the three kisses. The pot stops boiling and “the pasta comes to a halt.” The townspeople want to string up Big Anthony, but Strega Nona says, “The punishment must fit the crime,” She hands Big Anthony a fork. “Start eating.”

Strega Nona’s three kisses, a little bit of love, cause the pot to stop boiling. If instead of adding anger and fear to our world we add a bit of love, will our emotional pots stop boiling? When we pay attention, will we learn the magic of listening to and learning from others? Our troubles may not evaporate but in a world filled with boiling water, adding love will help the magic happen.