What if every person who enters our lives fills up our tank?

Maybe everyone is walking around like a vessel and the other people who come into our lives pour into us (and yes I know that sounds vaguely dirty but let’s get our minds out of the gutter, shall we?).

What are they pouring? Benefit of some kind I guess. Love. Care. Lessons. Humor. Kicks in the ass we didn’t ask for but desperately need sometimes. I don’t know. Just… something that makes us more us.

Some people come in with just a tiny pipette or a shot glass worth of good stuff. Maybe a cup or even a pitcher. Sometimes people bring whole buckets worth of it.

Other people don’t pour anything in. In fact, they bring straws. Siphons. They take the good rather than give any back.

And then, if you’re really lucky, you get faucet people. The fixed features. The taps that provide a continuous source of benefit to fill you up.

Sometimes they drip. Sometimes they flow at full blast. But you can rely on them as a constant source. With a little maintenance (and a paid water bill), they always are there for you. They never let your vessel dry up. They never let you become fully depleted.

And maybe a person’s ability to become a cup or a bucket or a tap is dependent upon how filled up their own vessel is to begin with.

Some have deeper reserves to draw from. Aquifers. Lakes. Others only have tanks. Canisters. A precious, limited supply that can therefore not be as freely given.

Some people already have straws tapped in to their reserves. Or several faucets already running. Maybe they’re waiting for a good rain to replenish their source before they can start filling up the buckets to give to other people.

Everyone is just trying to keep their vessels full. Everyone is giving what they can without depleting their own reserves.

I’m not sure if we always know who is pouring cups versus who is a running faucet in the beginning. I guess that is what we figure out over time. Maybe we’re all just looking for consistent sources to fill our tanks.

May we find those consistent sources and may we also be them for others.