A friend asked me today “what is a meaningful life?,” and I hesitated, as it was a difficult question and I told him I think it is different for every person. For some, it is a life bound to family. For others, a life of fulfillment, accomplishment. For others, security, work, safety. For me, it is more complex, not black and white, but gray, yellow, red. A meaningful life is one of fulfillment, self-determination. It is a life of freedom, within bounds. And of encouragement, for me and others. A life where fear is understand to be a challenge to the character, a test of the will, a space to cross, but not life itself, not life’s definer.

A life spent in the pursuit of creation, and a search for love and the beautiful images of the world. A life where anger, like fear, is understood as a symptom, not a truth. Perhaps, more than anything, a life that is not lived in fear or hiding, without risk, search or rebirth. That, for me, is faith.