Essential

After several conversations yesterday with a few "non-essential" government employees I began wondering if any of us are really "essential" in the sense in which we use the word today.  Is anyone's work, or cause, or purpose absolutely necessary?  Millions of people die every day, yet the earth keeps turning and tumbling through space. Life in all of its multiplicity goes on.  No one is indispensable.

Yet, if we reclaim earlier understandings of "essential" we discover it's not about what we do but the essence of who we are.  Our essence makes us unique yet inextricably interconnected with and part of a whole existence both visible and invisible.   Our essence is the gift of life we have been given and the gifts of life we have to offer.   No illness, furlough, government shut-down, or even death itself can ever define who we are as long as we know our true essence.  We are all essential.