I’ve identified that I can’t live a happy complete existence without some combination of the four:
Passion
Makes me feel alive, I need it like I need food for my body. I sense it when I’m dancing, when I’m playing an instrument, when I’m dizzy from a beautiful piece of writing…It’s my joy, but it’s also my rage and deep sorrows that fill my life up with intensity and vibrancy. It’s what I lost for many years, and without it, I am a living corpse, going through the motions of a life I don’t want to claim as my own.
Freedom
Freedom to express, to desire, to live…I’ve paid a heavy toll to gain this inalienable God given right, and I’d pay a heavier one yet, if it came down to it. What is a life, if you’re not free to live it?
Love
All love, familial, friendship, romantic play a role in making life a comfortable safe place full of flowers and sunshine and light, where before there were dark unfamiliar corners with dangerous strangers. It is the essence of all other gifts.
Truth
If you can’t be honest about the way you live, you are simply stuck in a cage of your own making. The lies always end up tangling and choking you in the end anyway, so I set this as a personal value that I answer to as readily and openly as I can, bearing the responsibility it brings and relishing the inward satisfaction of living a life with integrity.
