What is one thing you can’t live without?

i’m pretty sure and I know this is gonna sound silly and self evident, but I can’t really live without breath. If it’s gone more than four minutes my life is kaput- unless I’m a trained deep sea diver.

With breath, I both take in new oxygen and release things what I don’t need like carbon dioxide. Water is resorbed.

And oxygen can be loosely thought of as receiving new ideas, new opportunities, sudden awareness, which may or may not be totally pleasant. So ‘Oxygen’ is metaphor for change too.

But all of that really proves to the soma I’m capable of being resilient- and still in the game, as it were.

Breath fuels all my body’s responses.

I need oxygen to fuel my cells and keep my mitochondria functioning and happy.

But not too happy, as in swamped. with too much oxygen we’ve a state of hyperventilation. That leads to too much oxygen, straining mitochondria and build up of toxic oxidizing byproducts.

And too, with hyperventilation, CO2 drops – which causes arterial vasoconstriction- less blood to our vital organs. our mouth tingles and hands clench. With low CO2 and hyperventilation, we get light- headed. Not a good state to be in if you want to be careful and meticulous.

as far as physical circumstances, we all know that ultimately what we think we “need” we actually just want because an authority-someone said we “needed” it.

as long as we have ourselves, and a version of our health, we can start again. even after great losses. Though a helping hand can make these transitions easier. But again is this a need or a want?

And even as far as the health part goes, these days, people live with all sorts of things and still do all kinds of exciting avocational and vocational activities quite successfully. Sure some need accommodation and support- but these are today available.

So even needing or requiring the health part isn’t really true. We can ~always be healed into a new form.

of course, to live happily, I probably need three sisters cuisine, with greens of course- and even occasional meat. And I love my tea, plain yogurt and seasonal fruit. But we all know those things can change and I’ll still will be fundamentally the same. (Although my micro biome will be different.)

and clothing is a basic plus. Technically do I need clothes to live? no, but to function well in society they’re very helpful!

In a northern climate, I need a roof walls, and doorway if I hope not to freeze in winter. Like a beehive cell- no more no less.

Were I in the tropics, a manger and mosquito netting would be lovely and adequate.