Recipe for Mending a Broken Heart

Prep Time: Variable

Cook Time: Unknown

Rest Time: As long as needed

Ingredients:

1 whole broken heart (fresh or frozen)

3 heaping tablespoons of bittersweet memories

½ cup laughter (preferably genuine, but artificial will do in a pinch)

1 tablespoon of tears (optional)

3 cups of solitude (aged but not expired)

1-2 sunrise walks

A pinch of hope (use sparingly)

3 late night songs (the kind of songs that make you ache a little)

4 awkward hugs

1-2 loyal friends (organic and unprocessed)

1 unexpected letter (sealed with things unsaid)

½ teaspoon of courage (finely chopped)

A dash of time (the oldest ingredient you have)

Several long sleeps (uninterrupted)

1 mirror

1 puppy (optional)

Poetry (optional)

A road trip (optional)

A rain storm (optional)

Instructions

Step 1: Acknowledgement the Heart

Begin by holding your broken heart in both hands. It will be delicate and fragile and a little colder than you remember. Do not panic. Do not try to put it back together yet Do not shove it in a corner of your chest and pretend it is fine. Gently set it aside on the counter or somewhere visible. Let it breathe. It has been through a lot.

Step 2: Sort through the Memories

Reach gently into the drawer marked “Bittersweet” you might find items like old photographs, inside jokes, voice messages, playlists, text messages, missed calls, and the smell of their old shirt. Sort through them carefully. If a memory makes you cry, set it aside. You will need that teaspoon of tears later. If it makes you smile that is perfect. That is what you’ll mix into the base. Do not discard anything yet. Even the sharp ones you’ll need too.

Step 3: Prepare the Laughter

Laughter must be gently coaxed. If you can’t find it, call a friend. The friend who sends you memes at 3 AM and reminds you of who you were before the heartbreak. Watch a romantic comedy on Netflix and laugh at the absurdity of crying into a bowl of cereal. Collect that laughter and measure a half cup. It might not feel real at first but that is fine. Fake it until your ribs remember what that kind of laughter feels like.

Step 4: Fold in Solitude

In a large bowl slowly fold in two cups of solitude. Not the lonely kind but the deep soul-searching kind. The kind you feel when you walk into a bookstore and find your favorite book on sale. The kind you feel when you are sitting at the kitchen table on a quiet morning. Let it sit and swirl in the silence. Turn off your phone. Open the windows. Let the fresh air in and breathe. Do not be alarmed at this stage of the mixture. The mixture may feel sticky and bitter. That’s normal. That is healing.

Step 5: Add a Sunshine Walk

Before the sunrises go out quietly. No disguise, no mask, just you in the mist of the empty streets. Let the world wake up with you. Walk slowly. Let your breath fog in the cold morning air. Whisper secrets to the trees and the birds. Step on the leaves on the sidewalk and notice and feel the crunch of the leaves under your feet. Watch the first light split up the darkness. That’s the beginning of the change in flavor.

Step 6: Sprinkle of Hope

Hope is potent. Use just a pinch or it will over power the mix. Add it in when you least expect it. Add it in when a stranger compliments your outfit or shoes. Add it in when your favorite song comes on the radio on your drive to work. Hope is a shy spice. Too much and you will risk disappointment and too little the dish becomes bitter.

Step 7: Late Night Songs

Pick three songs. One song that reminds you who you were before the heartbreak. One song that makes you cry. One song that makes you get up and dance in the kitchen wearing your socks while singing into the broom handle. Play them at midnight. Stir clockwise. This step might turn the mixture blue or gold. That is a good sign. That means your soul is waking up again.

Step 8: Knead in Hugs and Friendship

Now the mixture is heavy. This is when you need support. Ads at least five awkward hugs. The kind of hugs that linger too long or feel a little tighter than usual. You will know when they are working when your shoulders drop slightly. Toss in your loyal friend, not literally of course, just have them sit with you. Let their presence soak into the dough of you.

They might say things like, “You’ll get through this.” or “They didn’t deserve you in the first place.” Do not correct them. Just sit and take it all in. Their words are not the recipe their warmth is.

Step 9: Stir in the Unexpected Letter

Find a letter. Maybe it is from someone you never answered or something that you wrote to yourself many years ago. Maybe it is an e-mail from the past or a slip from a fortune cookie that you kept. Let it fall into the bowl like a leaf falling into water. Sometimes healing begins with words that you didn’t know you needed.

Step 10: Mix in Courage

This is the hardest ingredient to find. It might be hidden beneath the fear or wrapped in doubt or even buried under the bed. Dig it out. Clean it. Finely grind it. You will need only half a teaspoon.

Courage is not loud. It is not fire. Sometimes it is just waking up. Sometimes it is just showing up. Stir it in slowly. Do not worry if your hands shake. That just means it is real.

Step 11: Add Time

Pour time in liberally. Do not measure. Just keep pouring. Time does not look like much but it activates everything else. You might not notice it immediately. Time is sneaky. But over the days and months you will see a change in the mixture. It will become lighter and almost warm.

Do not rush this step. Let time do its thing. It always knows.

Step 12: Let it Sleep

Now cover the bowl with a soft cloth and put it in a warm quiet place. Let it rest. You may need to repeat this step multiple times. Rest is not weakness but a part of transformation. Every long sleep will help the heart rise again even if it takes a while at first.

Step 13: Check the Mirror

Take a clean mirror and hold it up. Look at yourself. Really look at yourself. You might see the redness in your eyes from crying. You might see lips that have not been kissed in a long time. You might see a chest that still aches. But look a little deeper. There it is. The glimmer that is you coming back.

Note: Do not compare yourself to what you were. This version of you is wiser, softer in places and stronger in other places.

Step 14: Optional Garnishes

A rainstorm works best if danced in. Get soaked. Get freedom.

A road trip will stir the heart especially if you get lost once or twice

Serving Suggestions

Serve yourself slowly. Share with people you see. Share with those who actually listen to you and not wait to speak. Serve with tea and blankets on your comfy couch.

You might notice that your heart still has cracks. That is okay, the light will shine in the cracks.

Notes:

Do not refrigerate regret. It spoils the whole batch.

Avoid reheating old love stories unless necessary. They rarely age well.

Store in a cool place away from self-blame.

Results:

A stronger version of yourself.

A heart that knows how to bend.

A laugh that is louder than before.

And one small bright seed of something new.

You may not recognize the final product. That is fine. You have changed. That was the whole point.

Bon Appetite.