All I Need

What is it that defines what we need?

Surely I need food to live, but do I need to live?

What I need is neither tangible nor visible, it can not be seen, felt or killed.

Should you manage to destroy it, it will only return stronger.  

It will burn hotter and shine brighter.

It is a need that I share with many others.

We share a single hope, a single voice.  We are pieces of a whole.

I know that I am not alone if I have this need, and if it were all I had, I would be satisfied.

It may not satisfy my hunger or quench my thirst, it may not provide shelter from danger, but it is all I need.

Do I need it to live? No, if it were all I had I’d surely die.

But with it I will worry not, for I will meet death with poise and respect.

What I need is simple.  It is all powerful, and is vast beyond imagination.

What I need is unfathomable.

It drives me forward, and holds me back.

I crave it, like a dependency.  

It is not a drug yet it is crippling to those who lose it.  

What is the one thing that I need?

I need only knowledge.