I Got Everything I Need Almost

This one was not a hit.

Originally, “(I Got Everything I Need) Almost” was released by the Downchild Blues Band on their 1973 album “Straight Up”.  That song, along with two of their others, would be covered by the Blues Brothers’ on their first album, “Briefcase Full Of Blues”.

It wasn’t a hit for the Blues Brothers, either.

The two bands have comparable styles; both performing Chicago blues, but since Downchild never had a movie made featuring them, there’s a good chance you don’t know them.  Even though they continue to perform today.

Still, this isn’t really about either band.

The song carries a message I thought was worth repeating and sharing.

I Got Everything I Need
Almost
I Got Everything I Need
Almost
But I Don’t Have You
And You’re The Thing I Need The Most

To me, this is a simple reminder about priorities.

Today, many of us get caught up in that “whoever-dies-with-the-most-toys-wins” mantra that we easily lose sight of what really matters.

Think about it for a moment.

When you’re life is winding down, and you’re ready to wring down the final curtain and join the choir invisible, what will you reflect on?  What in your life will have mattered all the way to the end?

Your Netflix queue?  Reading and responding to every message on Facebook?  That perfect pair of shoes (the ones that went with almost everything), that you always regretted passing up?

Will you be sorry you didn’t work harder?  Or for more hours? 

Or will you think about those you love?

Most of us already know it will be the latter.  The thing you need the most.  Love.

This isn’t limited to romantic love.  It also includes your closest and dearest family members, and your friends, those that make up your family of choice.

Regular listeners to Psychic Tapestry have heard many messages from loved ones that have passed on.  And there has never been a message that included remorse over a purchase that was left unbought, or a regret over a workday left incomplete.

The messages are always about love.

We’re all human.  And we can’t help getting distracted by shiny things.  This is just a reminder to try, at least occasionally, to keep it all in perspective.

Because the truth is that all the china and crystal, all the cars and real estate, and all the channels you get on your Roku won’t ever equal a smile, a laugh and a hug from someone you love.

And that’s the thing you need the most.