The salt of life

What's the salt of life?

She's been told that you could only appreciate Life when you went through hardships. Without hardships you couldn't find yourself, if you didn't find yourself, you couldn't enjoy your life because it wouldn't be yours.

It sounded so pompous and so artificial that she didn't pay attention to the old saying until that moment when she got salt all over her hands. It was rough, it rubbed against her warm palm, it was coarse and abbrasive and yet she knew it was necessary. Without salt to season your food, it would be tasteless.

Did that mean Salt referred to troubles? to pain? To sadness? Maybe it did, maybe that was the meaning of this little proverbial sentence. "Learn how to take in the pain, so you could enjoy happiness when it comes." It sounded easier said than done, for Pain usually led to questionning, which led to overthinking and constantly worrying. It required a lot of work to soothe the voice in her head, to take away the constant fear of losing her loved ones to some threat. Yet, she learned to appreciate those moments and look back at them as moments of growth.

Well, she was still learning to do that.

Where was she today? At a much better place than she was a few years ago. Away was this little scared heroin, unable to figure out her place in this world. Away was the daughter of Gaea who kept thinking she was disposable and shouldn't even hang out with the x-men. Gone was the fear of being abandonned again because she found in the x-men, the family and friends she never thought she could have in her life. That allowed her to enjoy those get-together events where everyone was relaxed and enjoying themselves. It also helped her enjoy more the moments they fought against their enemies.

So tears and cries might be uncomfortable, they were necessary. She now understood that. They were the salt of her life because past the tears she was now able to see how flavoured her life was. A soft smile crept on her lips as she washed away the salt that covered her palms and looked back up to the x-men who were playing and swimming at the sea. She wouldn't join but instead laze out on her towel on the sand, with a summer hat not to catch sunburn and an unbrella under which she would remain.

That was the salt of life, not always pleasant but oh so necessary.