WHO ARE WE?

"Have you comprehended the expanse of the Earth? Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness...?"          The Book of Job

"The known is finite, the unknown infinite; intellectually we stand on an islet in the midst of an illimitable ocean of the inexplicable."          T.H Huxley

"Our ancestors were eager to understand the world but hadn't quite stumbled upon the method. They imagined a small, quaint, tidy universe... In that universe, humans played an important role. we were intimately bound up with rest of nature..."          Carl Sagan         

Most human feelings and reactions can be traced back many years to when we were just starting out as a species seemingly alone on this planet. Many believe our ties run deeper still. Although we have advanced in many ways over time, we have grown distant and removed from our beginnings, they seem remote and irrelevant to our everyday concerns. Amazingly, there are those few who realize how rare we are, and in a very real and profound sense, we are deeply connected to one another. Humans often take delight in discovery, learning, and understanding, if we keep those traits in mind it may bode well for our survival.

Whatever road we take, our fates are insolubly bound together, it is essential that we discover, learn and understand that 'connections' with one another are what will carry us into the future.

 WHO ARE YOU?

Even though we converse, people such as I must ask "Who Are You?" Even if I do not believe who it is you claim to be, it must still be asked and answered. People such as you and I can have a great deal to say, most often with few to actually hear any of it, it is important for our words to be heard, even if few believe them. As a species we cannot continue to do and be as we like; we must learn to be with others and as such we must aspire if in only some ways to be as others would like us to be.

To do that we have to look at the commonalities we have as individuals. Are you not breathing as I do? Do you not require shelter from the elements when cold or wet? Does not food fill your belly or does hunger overcome you? Whatever occupation that you would learn, could I not also earn it? If we should disagree would we not wish to confront each other? Whatever you might like, may I not like it as well? Whatsoever cause you sorrow or pain, may it not also cause me sorrow or pain? We are all living upon this vast, yet small world we call 'Earth', this alone provides us with the bonds we require to listen to each other and get along.           -----> 

 

Whatsoever you may think of yourself, you are more, not only in your own eyes but also to the eyes of those that gaze upon you. When we are unknown to each other a veritable distance is between us and the differences stand out. It is only when we become known to each other that the similarities stand out, and even though we may actually be changed, we still appear as one to another that we have become accustomed to. If you know someone by name, are you not willing to help if needed? Often without even the question being asked.

Without you knowing someone, are they not still known to you due to our inherent similarities? Will others see you as 'One' or 'Another'? How would you have them see you? Is not the view of 'One' or 'Another' the same through another person's eyes? The view of another comes from within you.

 WHO AM I?

I start by asking questions like... Am I a husband? Am I a son? A father? An employee or an employer? Am I of this body or this mind? Indeed I've asked myself all of these questions many times over the years, and they have led me to understand that they are all about who I may have been, even who I have physically come to be, but not 'who I am'. They identify me with a specific relative plain. Someone at a particular place and time.

These sorts of inquiries often ended up being a little unsettling. To some extent, we are all a product of our surroundings and experiences, but trying to use them to capitulate a sense of self that is based on them, leads to thoughts that we may be more important than we believe, than other people or things.

Rightly so the question should not be 'Who Am I?' but 'Who do I want to be?'. With this shift in perspective, I go from thinking of myself (EGO) to thinking of what is right. This line of thinking leads me to the way I should live.

Eventually, it leads to where I am today, simply more aware of myself. The need for answers although still present has diminished and my acceptance of the answers I already have has grown. No one except me can dictate what 'I Feel', what is true, or what I should do with the remaining time allotted to me on this planet.

The answers are not out there. The truth is not out there, it is within me, and within you.

Dave SW