Who Am I?

 So many of us, myself included, would have a very hard time answering this question. We are never taught any tools to be able to discover this. I find that rather disappointing for myself. For, I believe, that this life that we are living is totally a journey of self discovery.

And we have many things that point to this. My favorite is a quote from a Shakespeare play put into the mouth of a character called Polonius, "This above all: to thine own self be true. And it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not be false to any man".

And I ask, if we are not equipped to seek our own true selves, in fact we live in a society that demands we conform to their ideals, then how in the hell are we supposed to do the whole being true to our own selves? It is not impossible. It is difficult.

Another great way of looking at this comes from Star Trek Strange New Worlds. A character named Captain Angel, a Pirate whom I hope we see more of, says to Spock "I think there's more to life than logic. I urge you to consider that you do not need to be either Vulcan or Human. That is and always has been a false choice. The question isn't what you are. It's who you are."

Now both of these quote show me that as a society we are trained to be what the greater whole defines us to be. Society, and especially the legal/political system, looks at us and forms instant opinions on what/who we are based on our Age, Race, Sexual Identity, Creed, Religion, or Lack of Religion, Accent, how well we do/do not speak, and many other cues. And we Human Beings fall into that trap as well. Especially as to who we think that we are. I am just as prone to that as anybody.

So first, we must cast out Fear. The fear that we will not fit in. The fear that we will alienate others. The fear that we are to much. The fear that we are not enough. All the fears that separate us from each other.

And, as talked about in an earlier post, that does not mean to deny our fear. We must accept that we are afraid. And then walk thru it and behave as if we are not. A tricky balance indeed. For that is true bravery, to know that one is afraid and yet to act anyway.

And if we can walk beyond our fear then we can see ourselves in a new light. And see that we are Human with all of the delightful Humanity and Flaws that go with that. And we can delight in our differences rather than be afraid of them.

And then another wonderful thing will happen. We will be able to start seeing others clearly, in all of their Humanity with all of the strengths and weaknesses that come with that. And revel in the differences, celebrate them, instead of being afraid of them.

And would that not be a much better world? Where we celebrate and delight in our differences rather that being afraid of them?

What would that make possible for you?