We are all in some state of being, whether it is feeling stressed or serene. The very message of the verb BE carries a resounding spirit of aliveness. It is also a message that trails back to this language's ancient roots. They are our roots as well. It has been a long, complex, and erratic journey for this verb, but so are our lives. Photography gives a way of peering into these complexities and a means of examining the many modalities being takes from the ordinary elegance of lemons in a bowl to the surreal and what can only be imagined.