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Here’s looking at your SOUL… kid
Who am I? What am I? Why am I? Ever asked yourself these kind of existential questions? Good, me too.
Why do I even put forward the question “who are you? What are you? And why are you?” Well, we live in a society which can no longer continue the way it is, and in order to make global changes which benefit humanity as a whole, it is crucial we go back to the basics and ask ourselves some questions to understand what the human being even is. Know yourself in order to decrease your own misery but also to enhance compassion, because that’s what our world needs! Understanding, compassion and love!
Looking at the picture above, let me ask you a question, behind the clothes, behind the skin, behind the hair, behind the organs, what is there? Look closely at the picture…
Here’s a wild guess:
You are a soul, part of the universe, living in a body which you can use to experience life! How awesome is that! Just remember it’s one big roller coaster ride, so don’t take it all too serious ;) Once you’re done with your journey here, you leave that body and all belongings, so don’t get too attached. Keep in mind you are connected to everything and everyone but attached to nothing and no one. IB.
Who am I?
When you are asked “who are you?” it is common for people to answer with things they have, possessions they own or things they have achieved. For example:
- My name is X
- I am X years old
- I am X nationality
- I am married
- I am a (insert profession / insert university / insert school / insert art activity / insert sport activity…)
- I have X awards
- My hobbies are X
- ....
The person listening to you, will then subconsciously (hence unconsciously) judge you based on this information and place you on an internal scala of success. This is merely how a member of society who has grown up in western society functions. It is what you are told about success and identity, so who you are, in school. The older you get, the more involved you get in society the more extreme this becomes.
Please note, I am merely talking about the western part of the world.
Success and your Identity
Many people in the western world, “want to be happy” and they think they will be happy once they achieve certain things, once they attain their expectation of “success”. As a side note, nobody is teaching anyone about true happiness and internal happiness, so how would anybody know better, right?
And there are way too many people who are not happy with their lives and therefore constantly live in the future thinking of how happy they will one day be, once they achieve a certain “success milestone”. Many people live their lives unhappy as if that’s a normal way to live life and if you are unhappy with your life, then it does become harder to consider others and express compassion towards another. Many of those who get all the things they planned out, will come to terms that their ideal of “success” does not actually make them happy or fulfil them and that true happiness is found somewhere else. When asking the question "Who am I" have a look at the correlation between your "success" and material "achievement" and how much that truly satisfies you.
Therefore, there are a lot of people in the western world who are extremely miserable, but their labels, achievements and material possessions mask that internal misery extremely well.
Therefore, I am talking about this topic.
So, what about answering the question differently to “who are you?”. For example:
- Are you happy?
- Are you well?
- Are you satisfied with the way you live life?
- Do you love yourself?
- Are you living on your terms?
- Are you living your passions?
- How do you feel about the world?
What am I? Why am I?
Now, referring back to the first set of questions, does that tell you anything about a person or who they truly are? No, it merely puts labels on a person, placing them into categories in western society, but it doesn’t tell you anything about them!
Referring to the second set of questions, yes these questions look at people’s feelings, their true nature and it’s looking closer at if the individual is having a good experience in life or not. For the western society, asking such questions are extremely personal, but why do we have to pull a facade all the time and pretend to be someone we are not? Most of the time you ask somebody "How are you?" they will say "good" but feel crap inside, because for some reason it is still considered a weakness to express your vulnerable self. You know what, it's one hell of a strength to be able to be yourself, and being yourself truly allows you to be compassionate and loving to others!
Have you heard the expression “you are the universe having a human experience”? That one kept me up many nights many years ago. Once we grasp our minds around the concept that every living being, human, animal, plant, on earth, in the air and in water, everything is merely the universe expressing itself in different forms, you will sooner or later come to realize everything is connected. Once understanding this, I promise, you see the world from a completely new perspective! You will be able to see yourself in everything and everyone, you will feel connected to everything and everyone, and that feeling is unexplainably beautiful!
Once you understand we are all connected you will try to do your best to be kind and loving and compassionate to everyone and every being, because you understand you are them and they are you ;)
I speak about this, because it is extremely important that we practice compassion in our world, its not only good for others, but for you too!
Without getting too philosophical, each of us are individuals and each serve a vital role in this world. Each of us has the equal value and equal importance of existence! No matter where you come from. It’s our differences which are supposed to help make us understand that we are all here taking the same roller coaster ride!
To sum up this topic, who am I, why am I and what am I? Well, in the end of the day, who knows right? The best guess is to go with your intuition and research as much as you can!
One thing is for sure, our world is undergoing changes and in desperate need of changes which benefit humanity as a whole. To not repeat history, let’s stop for a moment, reflect on what the human being is in order to know how to best enhance the lives of all living beings. This can in effect allow us to coexist with our planet using its given tools and not abusing it.
It is time we start looking at the question "who am I" with a different approach, one which truly looks at ourselves from a deeper level. One where we do not identify ourselves with the material belongings we have accumulated or the different levels of "success" we aim to achieve. Let's look beyond the physical, I mean love and compassion are not a physical thing, right, isn't it just who we are at our core? Allowing us to understand ourselves better will have the effect that we become more compassionate to others. Ultimately we are all connected and the more we feel connected to our true selves, the more we see ourselves in the world around us and express love and compassion towards it. One thing is for sure, when you know yourself and love yourself, you automatically become compassionate and loving towards others. So keep asking questions, stay curious and get to know yourself!
We are generation change!
Enjoy! Yours truly,
© Isabel Buchbinder
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