…WHO do you BE? Have you ever heard this question before? I bet you have…it just sounds a little different.
About 10 years ago, I went with a friend to a dream interpretation workshop. Dreams have always been interesting to me – I’m still not entirely sure whether they are just rapid neuronal firings or prophecies/messages from the “beyond.” In any case, somehow I ended up at this workshop. I’m not lying when I tell you that I don’t remember a single word about dreams or their interpretation.
This is what I remember:
The speaker said “I can’t wait for the day that we stop asking each other ‘What do you do?’ and start asking each other ‘WHO do you BE?’. After all, we are human BEINGS, not human DOINGS.”
I thought that was cute. I don’t think I totally got it at the time but it was cute and it STUCK. I mean, I am pretty sure that I remember that phrase WORD FOR WORD while I remember nothing else of the workshop.
So, who do YOU be? Or: WHO ARE YOU? Are you going to tell me your name? Who you are related to? What you do for a living? When I asked myself that question a few years ago, I had to peel away all those layers to remember who I truly am. I had to shed the daughter layer, the wife layer, the friend layer; I had to find my way out from under the mother layer. And then pulsing under the speech therapist layer was who I was looking for: the writer, the musician, the philanthropist, the social rights activist, the spiritual being. Me.
Some people spend their days honouring their true self, all day long, and make a living at it. Some people enjoy “side jobs” in their areas of interest. Others indulge in their hobbies every so often. And there are a whole lot of people who are unsure how to fit their MEs into their lives. All of the people I’ve mentioned above know who their ME is. The other side of the coin always exists, and THAT IS OK!
One reader alluded to herself as being so “far behind” because she didn’t know who she was. Well, guess what? Reading this blog, reading other self-development work, asking yourself “Who am I?” – that’s a huge step forward in remembering the answer. Don’t be afraid to sit with this question in silence. You just might hear an answer. And if you don’t hear it right away, at least you’ve got the ball rolling.
But whatever you do, DON’T spend your time thinking that there are just a chosen few who get to live their lives to their fullest potential, or that only certain people have the abilities to be their truest selves. That’s your inner critic talking. Tell it to get lost. Do you remember The Old Man Who Lives In My Head? I have to tell him to get lost, too, when he tries to feed me garbage like that.
Have fun talking to yourself and acknowledge yourself for being exactly where you are meant to be on your journey!
“I had to peel away all those layers to remember who I truly am.” There remains the possibility that you didn’t peel enough. Where do you get when you keep peeling? There comes a spot where there is nothing to peel anymore. Nothing! That’s what Self seems to be. Something with many layers and an empty core. Hollow! An illusion. However, illusion are not ‘wrong’, one just has to understand their nature.
“Who am I?” If you insist on an answer, you fall for the illusion. If you let go of the question and just listen, you are whaevert you are.
Thank you, Klaus! I am going to sit with this because something tells me that there is a lot to learn from here! I am very grateful that you took the time to write this comment. My first two immediate responses were: 1. The Self is infinite (this phrase actually dangled in my mind when I was writing about the layers as I have recently remembered another part of my Self, and I am sure there is much more out there) and, 2. letting go of the question is key. I think the question does need to come to the conscious mind but I do appreciate the letting go and definitely the listening part.
Again, thank you for reading my journey and for sharing with me some of yours.
I know. People are always interested in knowing what you do for living, for the most part but not how many hats you wear and how many you actually want to wear. Great write-up, Taslim.
Thank you, Sonya! Talking about what you do for a living/asking others what they do seems to be one of the first topics brought up in small-talk, or when we first meet someone. I think it’s safe because it’s not as personal as “What are your passions?” or “What do you dream of most?” but wouldn’t it be fun to just get right down to the nitty-gritty and learn those things about someone right off the bat? I think so.