It's Always Something

There's are two old sayings of which I'm particularly fond; "It's always something," and "Things change." Now, these aren't particularly deep sayings at first browse. They certainly don't have the epistemological avoirdupois of "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" Nonetheless, each has a certain ontological pith. They are sayings with long fuses, apt to detonate when almost forgotten.


And that's what I like about them; their simplicity belies their profundity. Of the two, "It's always something" likely requires more explanation to the non-native speaker of English. The "it" in the saying is, basically, life itself, whereas the "something" is adversity, or at least the ethereality of perfection. I might say "it's always something" when my car blows a tire while I'm on my way to an important meeting, or my cell phone dies exactly when I most need it. When I was a kid and tried to make excuses to avoid mowing the yard (it's raining, it's snowing, I have a broken leg), my father would say, "it's always something." Translation, "do it anyway." In this way, the saying is somewhat akin to Japan's "ganbatte."

I love the saying "Things change" even more, because it is entirely bereft of reconditeness. The saying means exactly what the two words mean. Your favorite ice-cream shop goes out of business? Things change. Your girlfriend leaves you for someone who does not eat fruit directly from the fruit section of the supermarket? Things change. Your best friend betrays you and sells you into slavery while you are on safari? Things change. The world ends? One apprehends the picture.


Despite their somewhat resigned and fatalistic nature, neither of these sayings should be conflated with that omnipresent Japanese rejoinder "It can't be helped." I despise that phrase, because it smacks of submission rather than efficacy. "It can't be helped" indicates that one has stopped trying; "It's always something" and "things change" imply endeavor and perseverence.


Both sayings fit nicely into the lexicon of students preparing for standardized tests. It is, indeed, always something. You have your job, your family, and your life to contend with even as you struggle to prepare for a tough test. It's likely to be discouraging, infuriating, and even humiliating. But things change; do the work, fight the angst, and you will get better and stronger and tougher and, ultimately, ready.




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・【Smoke and Makuuchi】2008.10.01 (Wed)

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