I am. Full stop

I cannot say, “I am the body.” That is because I am not the body. Neither am I a Volvo C30, even though I drive one. Bodies and cars—they come and go, along with everything else. So the question is, What doesn’t change?

Happiness

This is the secret that time draws us away from: Nothing we can find, get, achieve or accumulate will make us happier than we are right now.

Loyalty

There are two kinds of loyalty—wise and, well, otherwise. Wise loyalty is a connectedness to one’s deepest essence, to the inner I AM. “This above all: to thine own self be true.”

Romance

“You complete me.” Only ego feels incomplete. (Is “I AM” partial? A fraction?)

“You make me happy.” This Sisyphean endeavour begins with a face-splitting rictus and ends in a trickle of salted water.

Vain hope

I will find something that will make me happier than I AM now.