I’m unique…as is everyone and everything who ever has or ever will have an existence.

The difficulty being unique presents is that, literally, no one can or ever will truly know me. They may try...and if I'm in a "significant" relationship, I may actually believe that they “should” fully know me. But, they will never -  and can never - know the feel of the breath I take the way that I know it. They will never see the sunset the way I see it, or smell a fragrance like I smell it. They will never be moved by art or music the way I am moved. They will never experience the combination of sleeping beside a lover and having the exact thoughts I have in that exact time and space. Followed to its logical conclusion, Uniqueness is a perfect description of being alone. Try as I might to have another “grok” me (or me them) I will never truly be able to. I am unique and I am alone in that uniqueness.

My world is unique and I, alone, am its only resident.

This is where uniqueness presents an interesting paradox. Because everyone is a unique being inhabiting a unique world on a common planet it's important to realize that we are continuously interacting with aliens. They may look like us as a Human and it's easy to assume we are the same. But they are unique and they live in a unique world known and knowable only by them. It’s only through compassion informed by the desire for connection – a desire rooted in a need to be understood, seen and valued – that we can build harmonious, loving, respectful and tolerant lives with others. It's how we manifest successful lives, cultures, societies and businesses. Understood, seen and valued. Achieving that is a challenge we must learn to master.

The desire, the absolute need, for connection is not to be underestimated. It is the source all human striving and its absence is likely the source of all human suffering. Without it we are left alone with our uniqueness...and being alone in the Universe is probably the most frightening thing we can experience. And because at the end, that unique I that carries my name and resides in my body is alone, I am well served becoming very comfortable with me. I am well served becoming very much in love with me…all of me.

After all, what’s not to love? I’m unique.