All it takes is an apple eaten a little too quickly…
A little too mindlessly…
For it to become lodged in your throat…
With not enough room to pass liquid, but just enough room to pass a pinch of air…
…For you to remember how fragile life is.
It took 15 minutes of coughing, spitting, and throat contorting to finally pass that apple clog.
And in each passing moment of pain and fear, I became increasingly aware of the tightrope of life I was walking.
…The same one that I’m always walking, but somehow perceive more like a curb… or sidewalk… or highway even—the longer I’m removed from run-ins with death.
But, don’t get it twisted…
The path we walk is not any wider than the width of a rope.
And each step needs to be taken deliberately and mindfully…
Because if it’s not…
All it takes is one misstep or slip up—an apple eaten wrong—for it to all go away.