Who Am I? - Part One

We are all, at times, nudged to "be who you are", to "discover your true self", and many to cultivate, at least in retirement, the self to which one aspires.  Tricky.

Suppose you are not one of those people who KNEW, at age 5, 6, or 7, you wanted to be a doctor, fireman or whatever.  Suppose, in fact, you are one of us who do not identify your identity with a job or vocation.  Suppose that, like so many of us, you don't have a clue what the answer to "Who am I?" is.

Relating to one's self is not easy work.  Figuring out WHO one's self is is as hard as figuring out who some other self is.

Who is he?

Well, that's Fred.  And that person, over there, is John.

OK.  You have a name.  Do you have a sense of that person't self?  Probably not.  If you know your own name you know that there is more to you than your name.

Who is he?  Who is she?

He's a logger.  She's a nurse.

Great to know if you need trees cut and hauled, or expert medical care, but. . . who is he?  who is she?

"What in blue blazes do you mean by that question?" you ask.

I answer, "What I mean and what you mean changes with each time the question is asked.

We might mean, "Is she nice?" "Is he competent?"  "Is he a veteran?"  "Does she face divorce?"

Or we might mean, "What is the essence of her identity, the foundational truth of his life?"

What comes to your mind when you ask the question, "Who am I?"  What kind of answer, today, might you give yourself or someone who asks?

Leave a comment and let us know.