Thread by @thealicechesh

A thread about #gratitude (with a twist) - I hope you’ll like and share...

Many years ago, when I was a young eager Jehovahs Witness, I travelled to South America. It was the biggest adventure I had ever been on, and I was prancing with excitement!!
#exjw #JW 1/

My companions were my #JW boyfriend (later husband), his brother and their one weird friend who I never knew whether to laugh with or call the police on. Anywho, we were together, and off on an incredible South American adventure /2

We landed in La Paz in Bolivia, the highest capital city in the world, 4000 ft above sea level. I remember feeling like I had been transported to another world. I was only 19 and this was totally foreign to me. And then the altitude sickness kicked in.... HARD... /3

I had never experienced altitude sickness before, and I never have (to this extent) again. We had landed at 4000 metres above sea level (12000 ft - correction from last tweet!) and my brain shut down almost immediately. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t speak, I couldn’t function. /4

It felt like I was moving through treacle, and everything I tried to say was projected underwater. My head was in a vice. And then my stomach decided that it was going to protest as well, at which point I was violently ill, and the thought of eating anything was intolerable.../5

We were staying in a small house near the centre of La Paz, very traditional, no “western” comforts, and for two days I could not move from my bed. My body was in so much pain, and my mind was foggy. In the depths of altitude sickness, I honestly thought I would never recover. /6

Bt on the 3rd day, something happened. My boyfriend came back from the local shop with a small packet of dried soup and some saltines. And he persuaded me to try to eat something. I was sceptical - I felt so sick, and so tired that I couldn’t imagine ever feeling better /7

He coaxed me out of the bedroom to the tiny kitchen, where he had prepared a light lunch for me. I sat with trepidation, and at the time was only humouring me... and that’s the first time I ever tasted Knorr Super Chicken Noodle Soup... /8

After three days of no food, the first taste of that glorious broth cannot be described. It was light and nourishing, and the crumbled crackers added an amazing saltiness. Almost from the first moment I tasted that soup, I felt better. /9

My brain felt clearer, my body felt stronger and my stomach felt less... unsettled 🙄.

And within a few minutes of that bowl of noodle soup I started to feel like myself again.

So what’s the lesson here? Why am I tweeting about soup....? /10

Well, eating that bowl of soup was one of the best moments of my life. Simple, but the contrast of before and after isnoff the scale. And it’s always stuck with me. And now whenever I’m feeling ill, or anxious, or stressed, Knorr Super Chicken Noodle Soup solves it. /11

I can’t explain what it is about that soup, but as soon as I start making I, I feel better about life. It calms me, it comforts me, it soothes me. It’s a little bowl of hugs, and it always without fail makes me feel better. /12

And so here’s the point of this thread (hurrah I hear you cry!) ... the last couple of days I have been feeling off. Ill at ease, uncomfortable, hard to settle. And so I went for my tried and tested comfort food. Knorr super chicken noodle soup./13

And it was awesome. Beautiful simple noodle soup with buttered toast and crackers. I can’t think of a better supper. And as soon as I started cooking it, I felt better, like all those comforting memories had come back to cuddle me /14

So tonight: I am grateful for Knorr Chicken super noodle soup. A very simple dinner which means the world to me because of such positive association. As long as I have that packet of dried soup, I think everything will be fine. I feel comforted and whole /15

And here (eventually) is the true point... it doesn’t matter what you’re grateful for.

Big or small.

Soup or substance.

That’s not the point.

Just find gratitude, for whatever is in your life at this moment. Because that will change your heart and shift your mindset. /16

Twenty years since my La Paz experience, a bowl of Knor Chicken super noodle soup can do more for anxious me than almost anything else on this planet. It’s simple, and it’s awesome.

So what are YOU grateful for tonight?

/end