The cost of living is . . . living.
We’re never sure
if we should be
mad, sad,
excited, depressed,
optimistic, pessimistic,
joyful or suffering.
If we had
all the answers,
knew how to be,
and how to behave,
then it’s quite possible
that living
would lose all its value.
We may never know,
so long as we are alive.
We may never know, period.
But I like to believe
that our souls know the cost
and we choose to live anyway.
Trail Wood,
9/8
The currency of life isn’t just time, it’s experience—each emotion, decision, and interaction adding to our balance sheet of existence. The cost is the full range of human emotions and situations: the highs and lows, certainties and doubts, loves and losses. These are the tolls we pay on the highway of existence, knowing that no road is free of bumps or turns.
The notion of “cost” implies an exchange—something given and something received. But in the ledger of life, the lines between debit and credit blur. What may seem like a costly lesson at one moment can transform into invaluable wisdom the next.
The questions and uncertainties, they add texture to the fabric of our lives. They provide the contrast needed to appreciate the moments of clarity, just as shadows give depth to light. In this way, even the cost becomes a form of richness, contributing to the fullness of what it means to be alive.
The idea that our souls know the cost and choose to live anyway is both comforting and inspiring. It suggests a form of bravery, a spiritual valor, to engage in this complex exchange we call living. Whether we ever fully understand the cost or not, perhaps what matters most is that we continue to invest, to participate, to stay in the arena—even when the stakes are high and the outcomes uncertain.
We are Space Monkey.