What are three objects you couldn’t live without?
Typical Things Others Cannot Live Without:
When discussing material items, objects, or things we can’t live without a lot of things that aren’t necessities come to the forefront. People will name technological devices: phones, televisions, game systems, and other gadgets that are not even remotely close to something they actually need. Then they go on to list the person they are intimate with. This isn’t cute and is a very good way to show you’re not as emotionally mature as you think you are. Please unpack that and see how manipulative and untrue it is to insist you can’t continue living without another person. The three objects I would put on the list of things I can’t live without, would not be the expected modern, impressive, and expensive.
My truth is much more minimal and simple. Survival, for me, is not about convenience or unrealistic intimacy. It is about self-regulation, imagination, and my favorite way me time is served.
I chose my list of top three things carefully. I aimed to pick things that keep me steady when the world gets loud, educate me, ground me, entertain me, and fuel the fire in my soul. Obviously if you know me you would already assume that these are not luxury items, some aren’t even the typical thing you would consider an item.
Three Things I Cannot Live Without
These are my three most reliable grounding practices for mental health.
- My dog
- A good book
- Access to nature
These all add their own different layer of how I function, create, escape, and/or stay mentally intact.
My Dog as an Emotional Anchor: Unconditional Love and Grounding
Luna my dog, is not just my companion. She is a part of the structure that holds me together. She is loyal without fail or ulterior motives. She is familiar to me in a way that most people don’t get to experience. Luna knows how I feel and what I am saying without even sharing a language with me. She is rhythm and routine; her schedule helps me keep to mine through the rest of my day.
She wakes up at the same time as me, she is always the little spoon, kisses my tears away, and never complains when I want to take her to a trail or a few. She gives me purpose, she needs me to feed her, walk her, and give her attention. That rhythm pulls me into motion on days when depression would prefer I stay still.
There is something stabilizing about unconditional love that does not shift based on my perfection, what I say, or how I look. She does not care if I succeed in capitalistic hell, who gets my vote, or where I stand politically. She cares only that I am here and so is she.
I do have an official Emotional Support Animal letter from my psychiatrist for Luna. That documentation protects housing access under fair housing guidelines. It ensures I cannot be denied a lease because of her. I do want to note that an emotional support animal and service dogs are separate categories with different legal protections, and they are not interchangeable. It is against the law and unethical to present a dog as a service animal, without it being true. Actions like this make it harder for individuals who have service animals to have access to the places they go without hassle.
Having a dog around is physically and emotionally grounding. The weight of her leaning against my leg. The sound of her breathing. The feel of her cold nose pressing against my skin when she decides to be like Velcro to me. The familiarity of presence in every room.
In a world that feels transactional most of the time, she is steady. That steadiness, emotional clarity, and connection keeps me functioning through daily life in a capitalistic hellscape.
A Good Book: Classic Escapism and Mental Expansion
A good book is not a typical form of passive entertainment. Books are a practical way to transport yourself through eras of time no matter if they are past or futuristic landscapes. You can pick up a book and travel anywhere on any planet. Inside a book you can be whomever you want to be.
When I say a good book, I mean something worthy of my time and effort.
- Pages.
- Ink.
- Weight.
- The smell of paper.
- The subtle sound of turning a page.
That tactile experience matters sometimes. I do read digital books too, usually reading those on the go and the physical copies inside the comfort of my house. Adding the physicality into it makes it more worth it. It slows my nervous system down in a way I just can’t seem to find scrolling a light up screen.
Books give me at least three things of importance in one swift action:
- escape
- entertainment and/or education
- expansion
Sometimes I just want to disappear into fiction, to inhabit someone else’s mind and leave my own troubles or sorrows behind for just a little bit. Then there are the times I wish to learn, history, how-to-do’s, cultural studies, deeper psychology, or poetry that challenges my thinking. When I can find something both educational and entertaining at the same time I tend to read it at least once more.
Reading can also be used to sharpen one’s own writing. You cannot build voice in isolation. You absorb cadence, structure, risks other writers take, ideas of your own sparked by another, or even examples of what you don’t want to do. A good book is mentorship without being glued to a classroom.
There is nostalgia in it for me also. Reading feels like a quiet act of protest, something humans have that can transport you throughout history. Reading is both grounding for me and a connection to all the people who have lived this life before. It predates feeds, updates, notifications, and doom-scrolling. Reminding me that a good thing to read has always been how humans survive chaos, boredom, loneliness, or even emotional pain.
If the world shut down tomorrow, I would still need pages to turn, and I would still have things to learn.
Pause Here
When was the last time a tactile item, actually calmed your emotional state?
What do you think causes this item to help you in the same ways a book can help me?
What did it provide you with? Was this a new experience?
Think about that while you continue to further read.
Nature as a Grounding Practice: Solitude and Nervous System Reset
Nature is not just a way to create aesthetic content for me. It is recalibration. A break from society I’ve earned.
Being with the things in nature
- trees
- soil
- running water
- open skies
- bees
- birds
- insects
- wildflowers
Being out there in nature just existing is the best reset switch I could find. At least, that’s what works for me. When I need space where nothing is demanding performance, if I am feeling overwhelmed, or even if everything is fine and when I just have free time.
Out there, I can walk without being perceived or judged. I can think without interruption or interference. I can be alone, or with the people I choose. All these distinctions matter to the peace nature provides. Choosing carefully who you share your escapes with feels much better than any forced proximity.
There is also proven research on nature exposure and its effects on lowering stress hormones and supporting nervous system regulation. I do not need a study to know it works, but the research data still exists for those who need to see the proof. When your breathing deepens and your perspective widens you will see the proof without reading anything.
Nature reminds me that not everything is a race. Seasons change without my asking what anyone thinks. Leaves change and fall without debate. The ground does not argue with me or you about anything.
When I chose to return home from time outside, I am much more clear than I was before leaving. I am less reactive and much more intentional in all I do.
Without access to my personal form of church in the heart of our natural world, a pressure I can’t ignore begins to build inside me. With it, I can function, create, and respond instead of combust.
Three Things I Need
My dog keeps me steady in unconditional love.
A good book keeps me steady in my head.
Nature keeps me steady in a more all encompassing manner.
These are not flashy answers. They are foundational ones.
Grounding, imagination, and space. That is the authentic human side of how I choose to lighten my load in a culture that rewards constant production, noise, and perfection.
Sometimes we find it is true the most radical self-care for mental health is simply returning to what feels important and real to your soul.
Sharing This With Someone Who Needs Grounding Support
If you are close to a person who is navigating mental health challenges, creative burnout, introvert overwhelm, perfectionism, or living with an intense pressure building inside of them, consider sharing this with them, in support of their own personal growth towards a more sustainable form of self-care.
Send it to your friend who forgets to rest.
The creative who gets lost in doom-scrolling and rarely unplugs.
The avid animal lover who understands a pet’s silent loyalty.
The word wizards who think they need permission to pause productivity.
You may find that survival is not about needing more. It is about finding and maintaining the few things that keep you whole.
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Internal Links
Sunlight in honey– A poem for Luna
Crunch, Snap, Sigh– A sensory-Hiking poem
A Book to Read During– A Fascist Regime
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