Potluck
Not everything needs to be balanced to be beautiful.
It started, like most things do, in a group chat.
Too many emojis, unclear decisions, people replying to the wrong message three hours later.
Eventually someone said:
“Let’s just do a potluck.”
“Everyone brings something.”
“No stress.”
That sounded like a terrible idea.
No sign-up sheet. No categories. Just chaos. Someone’s bound to forget. Someone always brings chips. Someone might actually try cooking. You start doing the math in your head — how many people, how much food — and it doesn’t add up.
But then the night comes, and people start showing up.
One person walks in with a still-warm tray of something that smells incredible. Someone else brings two bottles of wine and calls it even. Another person swings by the supermarket and shows up with pre-sliced veggies and hummus in its original container. One friend just brings themselves and starts doing dishes halfway through without anyone asking.
And someone — you don’t even know who — brought way too much. Like, “I stressed about this all week” energy.
The food doesn’t match. There’s no dessert.
Way too much bread.
But somehow, it works.
Nobody’s keeping score.
No one says, “Wait, I brought two things and she didn’t bring anything.”
The table is full. People are full. The room is loud in that nice, fuzzy way.
Someone spills a glass of wine and everyone groans together.
It’s not fair. It’s not balanced. It’s not optimized.
But it’s perfect.
We spend a lot of time obsessing over fairness in the wrong places.
Who’s contributing more? Who’s getting more than they gave?
But some things aren’t meant to be balanced. They’re meant to be complementary.
Not equal — just cooperative.
Some people bring main courses.
Some bring wine.
Some bring nothing but a good story and the presence to actually listen.
And that’s enough.
Global trade is the same.
Some countries export more. Some import more. Some specialize. Some diversify.
Some bring machinery. Some bring mangoes.
Some just show up and connect everything.
And that’s not a bug. That’s the system working.
If the table is full and people are fed, maybe stop keeping score.
Just pass the wine.