Existence and Identity are defined by Separation by Distance and Time.

I am me, because I am separate from the rest of the Universe by distance, no matter how small that distance may be.

Similarly, all matter, all particles of existence are separated from each other by distance.

Distance is also dimension, and yet Dimension is also separation and substance.

Solids are different from liquid and gas, because of the nature of separation between particles.

So lies the nature of our spirit, our drive to need and want.

For a plant or simple cell organisms, "eating" is nothing more than soaking oneself in nutrient. There is no instinct.

Yet for animal life, consumption is an act of one organism making another organism into a part of itself. It is often a violent forceful act, involving dissolving the "food", or subjugating the "food".

But this "force" is not so violent in itself. A plant or a fish may rot away in the open, or it may dissolve in our stomach.

The eco-system of our Earth is a giant rotting environment, where everything rots slowly away.

We live in that giant's belly. We are the bacteria in the intestinal tracks of a termite called earth.

The act of our "eating" is no more violent than the periodic earth quakes and storms of this planet.

Consumption is a cycle in which, we each seek to become greater and closer to the rest of the universe.

Our distance makes that impossible in the end, for we can never consume enough, know enough to be truly connected to the Universe.

So we are always alone, seeking connection by possessions and togetherness with our friends.

Wealth and friends do not connect us to the Universe, but they make us feel a little better in our Existence and Identity.

That I, am more than just a fragile piece of rotting corpse in the belly of the beast.

That I, have possessions of Things, hoping that those Things will out last my life.

That I, have friends and lovers and children, hoping that they will out last my life.

But these are merely psychological compensations, limited to my life time.