My greatest discovery so far.

I wasn’t born conscious. When I was pulled from the womb, I wasn’t a thinking being. I wasn’t yet aware of myself. Maybe it took two or three years before I was even aware that I was in a strange world. Inhabited by other beings. Or that I even had the ability or potential to think. I’m still trying to grasp what this world is all about. By becoming more conscious. More aware. Maybe that’s my mission in life. I suspect I have only so much time. That I am mortal. That I might not have this opportunity forever. But I can’t be sure about that. Because I still have a very limited amount of awareness and consciousness. I know much more than when I left the safety of my mother’s womb. But still, I surmise I know so very, very little. I need time if I am to learn more. If I am to have a clue of why I am here at this particular moment. My best guess is that I am to be a romantic idealist, a free-thinker, a political and social liberal and, above all else, a lover. Maybe if I had another 1,000 years to reflect, I’d change my mind about that. Experience tends to broaden my scope. I’m still evolving. Feeling my way. I’ve learned a language. A way to speak. And to write. To record my thoughts. That, in itself, is an accomplishment. An indication that I am alive. And conscious. Because I can retrieve my thoughts. By thinking. By recalling. By remembering. Lately, I’ve taken to traveling. To exploring the world. This place called Earth. I’ve met someone living thousands of miles away. But I’ve bridged the gap. The distance. Doesn’t matter that she lives in another country. On an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Because I live in a highly technical world. I find ways to connect daily. With audio. With video. I also can be physically half the way across the world in a few hours. The same day. That wasn’t possible in 1935. The day I emerged in a place called Chicago. Oh, I’ve been in so many places since then. I’ve survived. And I’m thriving. I’m becoming more conscious. More aware. And today I’m thinking that my greatest discovery so far is love. --Jim Broede