proof

i'm alive.

my flesh radiates heat & my lungs expand and contract at my will.

blood travels from my heart to my capillaries 

& there are all kinds of spontaneous chemical reactions in my brain.

i'm alive because i get lumps in my throat & goosebumps on my forearms.

i'm alive because i fall; just to know that i can bleed and bruise.

i'm alive because tears flood my eyes when i think of how much i love my little brother,

because i sleep in my contacts & never return my library books,

and because i have to squint & blink & strain to see the stars.

i'm alive:

a laugh and a smile can coexist with my breaking mind,

my bruises can heal & i can forgive,

and i can harbor peace on an ocean of endless waves & torment.

i'm alive. i'm an individual. i'm part of a whole;

a small leaf grown from the ever-reaching branches of the Tree of Life.

the Soul of the World recognizes me, and speaks the Language of my Heart.

i'm alive.

i'm human.

i'm here.

...

i was once told that it's impossible for the mind to comprehend an end to the limits of our universe -

yet it's possible to imagine that it stretches on infinitely.

...and so it goes with existence.

my circumstances,

my breath,

my Light doesn't end here, or there, or anywhere in between,

or ever, really. 

ultimately, i know i am alive because i am endless & not numbered,

because i am infinite,

because i'm a human:

& to be fully, truly, and completely alive

is to never cease.