Are You Really Living, or Just “Unbeing Dead”? (Plus, My Most Hated Kitchen Gadget)

Question and Thought for the Day February 3, 2025

Thought of the Day: “Unbeing dead isn’t being alive.” E.B. Cummings

Question of the Day: What kitchen gadget do you hate the most?

There’s a difference between being alive and actually living.

E.E. Cummings put it simply: “Unbeing dead isn’t being alive.” You can exist—going through the motions, checking the boxes, following the routine—but that doesn’t mean you’re really here. And maybe that’s the real tragedy of life—not death itself, but a slow, unnoticed drift into a gray, lifeless autopilot.

Somewhere between work, responsibilities, and an ever-growing to-do list, it’s easy to trade in vibrant, full-color living for a dull, grayscale existence. It doesn’t happen all at once. You wake up one day and realize you’re just coasting. You’re eating the same meals, having the same conversations, going to the same places, watching the same shows. The spark fades. The days blur together.

The Rice Cooker Effect
This brings me to my most hated kitchen gadget: the rice cooker.

Stay with me here.

On paper, it seems like a good idea—set it and forget it, perfectly cooked rice with minimal effort. But in practice? It’s a machine that does one thing, takes up way too much counter space, and somehow still finds a way to disappoint. It’s the culinary embodiment of mediocrity: uninspired, unnecessary, and a quiet killer of the hands-on joy of cooking.

And if I’m being honest, sometimes life starts to feel like that rice cooker. Efficient, predictable, but ultimately… lifeless. When we trade spontaneity and engagement for automation, we lose something essential. We lose the messiness, the mistakes, the hands-on experience of being in the moment.

So What’s the Alternative?
Maybe it’s time to put down the metaphorical rice cooker and get back to the real work of living. That means:

• Saying yes to something unexpected.
• Letting yourself be bad at something new.
• Eating something you cooked with your own two hands—even if it turns out slightly terrible.
• Making a call instead of sending a text.
• Leaving room for surprise, discomfort, and maybe even a little chaos.
  

Because being truly alive means feeling it all—the highs, the lows, the burned rice, the wild successes, the beautiful mess. It means looking up and realizing that life is happening right now.

So, what’s your rice cooker? What’s sitting on your counter, taking up space, making life a little too easy but also a little too boring?

And while we’re at it—what’s the kitchen gadget you absolutely hate? Let’s commiserate.