So, what is the worth of a human life?  What is the worth of ANY life?  How do we measure this worth?  By accomplishments?  By wealth?  By the Loves we’ve had?  By our friends? By those who “love” us?  How about by our credit achieved? OH! I know! The career we’ve accomplished!

Hmmm!  Sounds like all material things, huh?

There are so many things we can “rate” our worth by, but what really counts is what we feel inside ourselves. How do you feel about the person you are?  So many people try to “fit in” with society so they will be loved or accepted, and this can be at the expense of our own self-esteem, our own self-worth.  Why is it so important that we be accepted? Why is it more important than our own self-love?  Love and Happiness are always wished upon us from everyone we know, but do they REALLY wish that upon us, or is it something they simply express because it is something we’ve learned to tell others because we wish it for ourselves?

If we take a few minutes each day to reflect upon our own lives and what we’ve truly accomplished in it, I believe that each and every one of us will be overwhelmed with joy at the obstacles, the JOYS we’ve each experienced over and over throughout our lives. Personally, as of today, I’ve had so many incredible moments that I cannot count them all, nor would I want to spend that much time trying.  Instead, I can rejoice at the beauty heaped upon me each morning when I wake up to find that I’m breathing another day of life into my body. Yes, I am truly blessed in this gift called “Life”.

As most of you know, I’ve had TONS of adversity throughout my life, and there were times I was ready to end it all, just too much “pain” to endure.  I’ve been to the top of the world, and down to the bottom of Hell, and yet today I find so much beauty in life that it sometimes makes me cry for minutes on end.  I’ve built an “American Life” that so many would dream to have, and yet I gave it all up to experience what many people in the world experience.  I left the states with 4 suitcases from a home loaded with 30 years of stuff, all accumulated since I was in high school, and yet I now know more peace and happiness than I would have EVER thought possible just 5 years ago.

I write this update today because it is so important that I tell each of you, my dear friends, how beautiful life is with each of you in it.  While many of you are friends I’ve known for a short time, many others are friends I’ve bonded with since I was a kid.  Some of you might say I am still a kid, but what the hey!?  Better to be a kid than some old crotchety crank that is bitter at the “ills” they’ve experienced, huh?  

Each day is another opportunity for YOU to make a difference in this world. Go out and spread all the Love you can, and know that each smile you give to another...each pat on the back will help all of us to live up to the mnemonic “Human”. Let’s make this world a place that all can be happy in. Let’s make this place something we can leave to a 1000 years of families.  Something I heard while watching Drew Barrymore (one of my most favorite actresses) last week... “Fun is something we bring with us.”  Yes! Fun, happiness, love is a matter of perception! You can wake up each day feeling love and happiness, no matter what pain (physical or emotional) you’re experiencing. It’s all up to you.

As I close this “update” I want to say that I’ve been experiencing for such a long time now so much peace and happiness, both through the AWESOME friends I have as well as the great life I’m experiencing here in Thailand, and I can’t thank all of you who call me friend enough for your love.  Clarity has never been this sharp before, and I know it can only get sharper, at least with the perspective I carry on life. 

I love you all, and hope that each and every one of you can share the love of life that I have come to know.  If you ever have any doubts about YOUR life, just talk to a friend, and see how awesome it is to have a FRIEND that is next to you.

-- Cole
    ”Life is a journey. Enjoy the trip.”

The Hunger Site

The Child Health Site