The search to be human

'Whether we're rich or poor, male or female, a nineteenth century Swiss jeweller like Isaac Golay in his oversized frock coat, or a twentieth century american clergyman like me with a penchant for writing books, or a young squirt celebrating his twenty-first birthday in the twenty-first century like you, our stories are all stories of searching. We search for a good self to be, and for good work to do. We search to become human in a world that tempts us always to be less than human or looks to us to be more. We search to love and to be loved. And in a world where it is often hard to believe in much of anything, we search to believe in something holy and beautiful and life-transcending that will give meaning and purpose to the lives we live.'

'Letter to Benjamin' - from The Longing for Home, Frederick Buechner.