I sold my soul on eBay.

Years ago, I sold my soul on eBay. "One virginal soul," I advertised. "Complete with certificate of authenticity." I charged $20 for shipping and handling. It was my soul, after all. I ended up getting more for the shipping than for the soul itself. I used to be very flip about having sold my soul on eBay. I thought it was an entertaining anecdote. I would tell people I had neither soul nor spirit, and would then launch into the story. It was some of my best material and got some decent laughs from the critics and cynics of the world. I'd even throw in a few quips about the problems with "truth in advertising," given that I'd touted my soul as being "virginal."

I was angry. I was bitter. I hated everone and everything. In retrospect, I abhore that I was so callous. Luckily, I came out of it all relatively unscathed. But it was only a little more than a year ago that I thought myself empty. With the help of some introspection and some good friends who were willing to talk to me when I called at 4 am, I've come a long way. But I realize that as far as my spiritual journey is concerned, I still have a long way to go.

The only part that makes me sad is that I've yet to find someone who really gets all this. My social circle is full of lawyers and atheists who don't have the humility to understand that there's more to the world than the spheres of their own experiences.