Salted

For over a year, I couldn't eat kimchi.

This might not matter to you, but to a Korean adult, taking away their kimchi is just cruel.

It's not like I didn't have it around.

My family devours it.

I just went through some ess. And a part of said ess messed up my chew and taste buds.

And for a long time, it was just meat shakes.

Literal meat shakes.

During this time, I made a deal.

Ok, God, if the terms are I get to live, but I have to give up kimchi, I'll do it.

It wasn't easy, but I agreed.

Since that year, within the last year or so, I've been given the gift of taste back. I'm not sure if it's what I've always had or if it differs, but I'm thankful that kimchi tastes GOOOOOOD.

For every day of my life, for nearly every meal of my life, I've had kimchi.

Except for a stretch of just a little over a year, when kimchi just didn't sound good. I couldn't eat it if I wanted.

All of that to say, the things we take for granted, the things we consider essential, may or may not be so.

I did fine without the kimchi, I mean I lived, but it wasn't as essential as I thought.

It was just a food.

So I ask, what is truly essential? What must be?

What are you believing you have to have in your life, that just ain't true?

And what is truly sacred?

Truly holy?

I used to think kimchi was. I mean I still love it. But I went over a year without it.

It's just a jar of fermentation, like all of us. 

I lost a lot during that season, but nothing I couldn't live without, although I would have been wrong about that if you'd asked me before it all happened.

The things I considered essential then are no longer so.

A nice to have. Not a must have. Never was a must have. I just thought that it was.

There are very, very, very few must haves.

I'm spending more and more time thinking about that.

But right now, I get to eat kimchi.

What a privilege.