I must confess – I am a writer.

I write poems and stories and fantasy and truth. But while I learned to write without my heart, WHEN that heart opens, it becomes more than just writing.

We are the sum of our experiences, and when I read what I’ve written today (and yesterday, and the day before, and for the last 9 years), I’m hesitant to learn what exactly I have experienced.

There are no wars or gruesome bloodshed. Nor disease, nor adventures fit for lore. But it is a journey fitting of a tribute, and that’s how we find ourselves at this point.

What I’ve written is an extension of who I am, so it falls to reason that if my words upset you (and they will upset you), I will upset you. You may not know, or you may not remember, but what I feel and what I believe, especially when the layers of courtesy, morality and shame are stripped away, will trouble you the way it troubles me to read it again.

I’m lying – it thrills me to read what I write, it uplifts me to express the truth of my mind in exacting glory. And when it bothers you? I ask only that you consider yourself and the layers that bind you in, and pry at them. Gently at first, furiously as the first rays of enlightenment peek through and with an open heart and mind at all times.

Life without these layers may be brutish and short – but trust me, when you find yourself, when you are comfortable in your skin, you will know how to summon and banish the layers at will.

There is balance in this universe. A balance religion and science both point to (and when they both agree on something you can rest assured it exists), and a balance that is man’s highest calling.

I implore you to find yourself. My gift was…is…difficult to explain but glorious to express. Yours will be the same, and you will know it when it refuses to go away and drives you with absolute certainty towards that one goal you knew inside that you were born to fulfill – even if you never knew or thought about it before.

Find yourself. Let the layers be just that – layers – and not shackles or easy-drop pants. After yourself you will seek to balance, and as difficult as this will be, as easy as it can be to embrace excess in either direction – this balance will truly set you free.

I hope to see you on the other side. When we meet, I will share what I write, and will share in your gift as well.

See you soon.