There’s Always Something

There’s always something.

That’s the point of everything I’m about to say.

So if you were looking for something, that’s it. First sentence. You don’t even have to keep reading.

But if you want to hear me talk about the things that there always are—and the things I’ve decided I don’t have to worry about simply because they always are—continue.

There’s always something.

So just live.

Gas is expensive.

My car needs gas.

Pump the gas.

My finances are not unlimited.

Budget.

Something I wanted didn’t work out.

I tried.

Keep going.

Somebody doesn’t like something.

Okay.

There is always something to complain about. Always something to be upset about. Always something that could be different, cheaper, easier, healthier, cleaner, fairer, quieter, better.

If I wait until there is nothing to worry about before I enjoy being alive, I will spend my entire life waiting.

Because there’s always something.

Lately, I’ve been thinking:

Imagine this place to be heaven.

Not heaven because everything is perfect.

Heaven because I am here.

I have a bed.

I have a home.

I have a body, a spirit, a mind.

I have a voice.

I have hands.

I can hear.

I can feel.

I can taste.

And oh my God, I can taste.

Y’all.

Food on Earth?

Chef’s freaking kiss.

I love good food. I mean I love good food.

I’m at a point in my life where I don’t even hold the feeling back anymore. If something tastes good, my whole body is going to know it. Eating can be euphoric when I’m actually there for it—when I’m not scarfing something down while thinking about what I need to do next.

I get to put something delicious into my mouth and feel my body being nourished by it.

What an experience.

What a blessing.

And there’s still something.

There are pesticides. There are food systems I don’t agree with. Organic food costs more.

Okay.

When I can, I buy it.

And instead of only thinking about what it costs me, I think about what I’m supporting.

Someone took the extra care.

Someone grew the food differently.

Someone made something I value available to me.

Here’s my money.

Thank you.

I feel similarly about my car.

Gas can be high. Gas can be low.

Either way, I like going from point A to point B, and I’m not walking.

So I pump the gas.

Thank God I have the money to pump it.

Thank God I have the car.

Thank God the car takes me places.

The money came into my life and some of it went toward moving my body through the world.

Sounds like money doing its job.

There is always something.

I think I used to give every something the opportunity to become everything.

Now I’m learning to ask:

Does this something deserve my energy?

Sometimes the answer is yes.

Do something.

Fix it.

Address it.

Budget for it.

Speak up.

Make the appointment.

Change the plan.

Recycle the aluminum.

Try.

And sometimes the answer is no.

Keep it moving.

My husband reminds me that not everyone deserves my energy.

The more I embody that, the more I understand that my energy is something I get to place.

And when I stop handing it indiscriminately to every something that appears, I have more of myself left.

More strength.

More joy.

More awareness.

Hell, better posture.

I am not carrying every little thing around with me.

There is always something.

There always has been.

There probably always will be.

And somehow, while all those somethings have been happening, I arrived here.

To a life where I have a bed I can sleep in.

Food I can taste.

A body I can nourish.

A husband who reminds me where my energy belongs.

A car I can put gas in.

Money I can budget.

Medicine.

Knowledge.

A mind capable of wondering.

A voice capable of saying what I wonder about.

Hands capable of creating something from it.

This is the stuff I wanted.

This is the stuff I want.

Maybe paradise was never going to be the absence of something.

Maybe paradise is having something to deal with and still noticing everything that is good.

So yeah.

There’s always something.

Pump the gas.

Eat the good food.

Love your people.

Use your money.

Take care of your body.

Protect your energy.

Try.

Fail.

Try something else.

Taste your life while you’re living it.

There’s always something.

Live anyway.

With Love,