Hi Reader,
Over the weekend, I spent time with some friends visiting from across the country, and like many of my favorite conversations, it started with politics and slowly drifted toward something deeper—spirituality, meaning, the nature of life itself.
The thread we ended up pulling on was this idea of deservedness.
Who gets what?
Who is entitled to what kind of life?
Who gets to thrive—and why?
I shared what I’ve come to believe:
That the very moment someone arrives on Earth, they are entitled to a decent life.
Not because of what they’ve done.
Not because of how talented or smart or good they are.
But simply because they exist.
And for me, the clearest framework we have to express that truth is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It lays out basic rights that every person should have—things like shelter, education, safety, and freedom from persecution—no matter where they were born, what their body can or can’t do, their gender, their religion, their nationality, any of it.
But my friend pushed back. He said he doesn’t believe all lives are of equal value. His words were something like:
“I mean, Einstein contributed way more to humanity than I ever will. It just seems obvious that he’s more valuable.”
It was one of those moments where I could feel the whole system we live in speaking through him. Because this is what we’re taught, right? That your worth is in your output. That some lives are more valuable because of how visible or influential they are.
That belief—that your worth is measured by your contribution—is everywhere. And it’s one of the most dangerous ideas our society is built on.
Because here’s what I believe instead:
We are not valuable because we contribute.
We are valuable because we are manifestations of life itself.
Even if I can’t tell you exactly what my contribution is—even if I don’t have a résumé that changes the course of history—my presence here still matters.
Because I am life. You are life. And life deserves reverence.
It’s a choice to believe this.
I could believe something else, like my friend does.
But I choose this because I don't think it's actually ours—as humans—to rank the mystery of life. To decide which expressions of it are more important than others. My friend might think Einstein was more valuable than he is, but I’d bet money his kids would disagree. And who’s to say they’re wrong?
That’s the thing. This conversation—about value, worth, contribution—it doesn’t have a clear answer. It’s a philosophical debate that’s been going on for centuries, and I don’t think it’s supposed to be resolved. I just want you to know where I stand.
And I stand here, because I believe that life is magical.
That life is sacred.
That life is a mystery I will never fully understand.
So no, I’m not going to argue about which life is “worth more.” I don’t think that’s the point.
And I share all of this because I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of feeling like you're not doing enough, being enough, contributing enough.
But the truth is, it’s not just about you. It’s about the breath of life that moves through you.
The spirit that animates you.
The force that connects you to every living thing.
That force is not something you have to earn.
It’s not something you can lose.
It’s not individual to you—it’s part of the collective web of existence.
And when you remember that—really remember it—it becomes a kind of liberation.
Courage, truth, and infinite love,
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I don’t believe in magic, but I know that it works!
Magic is not a belief system, it’s a practice that works. Don’t believe me? Come try it out. If it doesn’t work, you lose nothing. But if it does… your dream life is about to begin!
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“El poder está en la acción.”
— Maritza Schafer