This is a poem I read many years ago and would like to pass on to a friend going through a tough time. All I con remember of it is that in the body of the poem appears..."It costs so much to be a full human being that there are few who whave the courage or... to pay the price." Can anybody help me fill in the missing blanks of 20 years? Thanks ahead of time.

-- Kay Burch (twinfawn@iserv.net), February 08, 2000

Answers

It costs so much to be a full human being that there are very few who have the enlightenment, or the courage, to pay the price...One has to abandon altoghether the search for security, and reach out to the risk of living with both arms. One has to embrace the world like a lover. One has to accept pain as a condition of existence. One has to count doubt and darkness as the cost of knowing. One needs a will stubborn in conflict, but apt always total acceptance of every consequence of living and dying."~Morris L. West

-- ilza (ilza@pobox.com), February 09, 2000.