What Makes Life Worth Living?

The single most important piece of ourselves is spread throughout society, passed down through the generations, some would say it is divine in origin, that which is the beginning and end of us all, the fire ignited at birth and extinguished at death, life, in all its grandeur.

Life is a unique commodity. For all our technical prowess and bio-chemical expertise, we are unable to create from scratch for ourselves life. Religion aside, I believe that life is a truly beautiful thing.

It's a wondrous thing just to sit outside immersed in life, birds and woodland animals scurrying about, the breeze blowing through the trees incensed with lilac or garden herb or the heavy soothing scent after a summer rain. Just sitting there, listening to life at work. No cars, no televisions, no one else.

Psychologists say that humans are pack creatures, that we congregate together. That's all fine and good, but just sitting out there under a beech tree, with the sun's parted rays entrancing your mind in a myriad of light and shadow, that's where life is. Not with family, indoors seated at the kitchen table eating dinner or rooted firmly in front of the television while mile after mile of life hums along outside your wood and brick, central air enshrouded Franciscan tomb, life is planted in the heave and ho of the tide, the hem and haw of Kentucky bluegrass.

I ask you please, remove your eyes from Tom Cruise and Dr. Phil and step out into the light, squint as first you wander about searching for your Nintendo DS and portable DVD player. But then take a seat down by the shoreline and dig your toes deep down into the sand. Run your fingers through it. Feel it's moist grit dig beneath your nails and pry off years of Cheatos debris and then lie back and let the salt air pour through your soul and cleanse you of your differences, exchange your shirt for the warming glow of a summer afternoon and stretch out. Close your eyes and reacquaint yourself with nature, time naught of time, life naught of death. Find a place where politics, war, famine, and hate are replaced with the warm tingling of the sun's rays running up and down your body warming your bones and relaxing your muscles, a place where you cease to be individual and return to your primal existence. The calm soothing churn of the warm foaming tides sliding up your legs surpassing your waist, purging your mind of thought and stress, elevating your being to the highest level of existence. Drift off as the warm water caresses your legs and runs it's cool fingers up your back and around your shoulders. Let yourself slide into it's grip and coast out into the crystal clear, warm waters.

Now that's what makes life worth living.