“The worst” is kind of hard to pin down sometimes.
Our cat, Lilly, must stay up most of the night.
She must stay up most of the night and hunt….because, in the morning, I’m often blessed with the spoils of her success, left on the outside porch carpet where I step out into the darkness to give her a can of cat food.
When it’s a big chunk of something….like a head or body or maybe even an unchewed, total “thing”….it’s easy to avoid.
It’s the barefoot moment when, in the darkness of “first to get up”, I step on a tiny piece of something still warm and very wet, that I feel a little squeamish and a little irritated.
I like to know what I’m stepping into.
It’s gross.
It’s “the worst”.
“The worst”?
Actually, it’s not even close to the worst.
I think I just throw that out to hype up the situation.
I think that I just say that to make things exciting.
It’s funny how I can take something pretty minor and build it up into something that is approaching monumental.
Like, “Remember the way that checkout person put the eggs on the bottom of the bag? THAT WAS THE WORST….”
Or….”Remember how expensive this or that was? THAT WAS THE…..”
Or…..”Remember when the car blew up? THAT WAS THE WORST!!!! THE WORST!!!! THE ABSOLUTE AND POSITIVELY….THE WORST!!!”
Of course, none of it’s the worst.
It might be kind of a hassle or very irritating….IN THAT MOMENT…..but, long-term? The worst?!
I don’t think so.
All I know is that, in the moment and very short-term, stepping on something wet and warm and very unidentifiable in the darkness is kind of unpleasant.
It’s unpleasant….but it’s not “the worst”.
It’s funny….well, not really funny….more odd…..that I take amusement sometimes in exaggerating how bad a situation really is.
That’s not a good game.
I should stop doing that.
I should say, “Hmmmmmmmmm……there’s something dead on my foot.” and move on efficiently from there…..after wiping my foot off, of course.
I should be able to say, “Shucks. I stepped in something weird again.” and just “let it go”.
“Let it go”…..like that song my kids sing….over and over.
Nothing stays the same…and my memory isn’t so good that I can make an honest appraisal like calling something “the worst” with any accuracy.
I stepped in something that shouldn’t ever be stuck on anyone’s bare foot this morning.
That’s all that happened.
It wasn’t even close to being “the WORST”.
But….what is?
What really is “the worst”?
I don’t want to waste my life trying to figure out what “the worst” is.
I need to figure out how to notice all of “the best” around me, instead.
That would be a better way to spend my time.
(“Spend my time”….gackkkkk. “Spend”? Holy smokes…..that’s a whole ‘nother kettle of fish to think about….)
“Kettle of fish”? Why, that’s something to think……
“20 million things” Lowell George