Tuesday, March 25, 2014

I am...



I am. That's it. That is all I am. It is everything I am. Whatever else that you think that I am or that I think that I am, is not who I am.

For practical and conversational purposes, I do say that I am a mother, a writer, a guide, and a manager, among other things. Yet the truth is that all of those things are just my functions. Those are the things that I do.

Sometime ago an editor told me not to say that I am a writer. He spoke with authority. He was a writer, he said. Then what should I say? I was miffed. Just...say you write. He believed that he had attained a state of being that was different, special and exclusive to only a few. My ego took a blow. If he didn't consider me a writer, then what was I? What if others didn't consider me a writer either?

Exactly.

I still am.

And he is right. I write. I function as a writer...in many ways, everyday. I get paid for the work that I do. I collaborate in literary projects and have works of my own. Yet if any of that ceases, if I never write again, I still am.

Life becomes more joyful, light and spontaneous when we do whatever we do in order to fulfill our functions rather than doing what we do in order to fill our egos and sense of identity. Human interaction and relationships improve when we recognize this in others as well. Who you are and what you do, have, know and your story are not the same thing. What you do, what you have, what you know and your story change according to your circumstances and emotional state. Who you are is changeless. There is no definition for this, although we could simply say that we are a being. That's it. We don't need to classify, categorize or qualify for anything else we try to define ourselves as is a role, an opinion, an attachment to an idea and creates a separation between us and others. It also further fragments our sense of being. Not defining ourselves as one thing or another, offers us freedom, lightness, and peace. We don't have to fill expectations–ours and others. We feel free to enjoy what we do. We are free to be.

Today's realization is simple–I am. You are. We are.


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