Most of us are drinking from something right now, and we couldn't say what. It might be a screen, a certain person's approval, the first hour of the morning, a habit that takes the edge off. The question doesn't ask whether any of it is good for us. It only asks which one, and that is harder to answer than it sounds.
What am I actually thirsty for? Why do I keep going back to the same thing when it never quite fills me? How do I know when I've had enough?
I have a long history of reaching for the next cup. Another book, another tab, another plan for who I'd be once things settled. It all felt like thirst, so I kept drinking, and the glass never seemed to get any fuller.
Some of what we sip is only ever a sip. Something small that gets us to the next hour. What if that is fine, and the trouble starts when a sip has to do the work of a whole meal?
There's also the pace of it. Do I gulp, or do I taste? Who decided how much I'm allowed to take, and when did I last check?
Is it a source I walked to, or one I was handed? I find I can drink for years from something that was simply placed in front of me.
And what about the days when nothing in reach looks drinkable? What do I do then, and who do I tell?
I came back to this while writing about the part of us that keeps seeking, in The Mind that Seeks Doesn't Exist.
If you've noticed what you reach for, and you feel comfortable to share it, I'd like to hear it. Private, under your name, or anonymous, whichever feels right to you.
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