I am. That is a complete sentence. But what am I? Am I the culmination of all the days of my life or am I the ideals I strive for? I think it’s something in between. At times I’m the bundle of character defects from my early training, at others I’m the person I strive to be. Uncertain in my skin, I keep trying to be someone better than I have been. Analyzing, always, my actions, my words, my thoughts. In the moments when I am, simply am, present and complete in the moment, I find peace, gratitude even, for the blessed fact of my humanity. The striving is necessary to be sure, but the being is the payoff, the reward for all the difficult work involved in evolving. Meditate, attune yourself with spirit. Clear away the negative thoughts. Find a way to be at peace, even for just one moment, in this cacophony we call life. Just be.