“I have gumption. I can manage. I can persevere in this world that I have come to learn. I can adapt, disregarding my own comfort

and desires, in order to press on. It is not a choice, but inborn to survive through hardship. My instinct drives me to endure, but it

is also that which gives me solace. From time to time, I receive an opportunity to remember what is innate in me. I am reminded of

my natural state when I join in the familiar laugh of another. Through struggles learned and borrowed, I relate to those empathetic

around me, and it is the changing hands of sustenance that gives me contentment. When I am full of love, I am not scared or wounded,

not competing or deceitful. It is when I can rest my head after a senseful day contributing to my existence and to my aspirations

that I can be whole. I am not burdened with very real, immediate thoughts of debt, hunger, or war. I am not running or fighting. It

is when I cannot think or consciously choose what could be necessary for my happiness. It is before I can be taught where it is I

should draw the line between my neighbor and myself. When I am existing naturally with what is at the core of me and I am grateful

for it, I am at peace.”

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