1 Who am I?

The question, "Who am I?" is one of the most unanswered questions in life and yet the answer is one of the most sought-after answers by all humans. It begins to be asked at different ages and stages in life and until it's answered, it will continue to be asked. It isn't asked very consciously, but it's asked all the same. 

There are several routes that have been taken to help asnwer this question and while some of them seem to answer the question (either immediately or in time), eventually most people realise that the answers they thought satisfied, didn't quite satisfy after all, and then the search begins all over again. Before we attempt to answer this question, let's look at some of the routes people take to help answer the question - "Who am I?"

  1. Profession
  2. Knowledge
  3. Pleasure
  4. Prominence
  5. Power
  6. Position
  7. Influence
  8. Popularity
  9. Physical Appearance
  10. Possession and Wealth
  11. Pleasure-Renunciation
  12. Skill
  13. Perfection
  14. Parents
  15. Children
  16. Past / Background
  17. Religion
While on the surface, all of the above seem to promise a sense of identity to those choosing that particular route, before long one will discover that it doesn't really deliver all that it seems to promise and we find ourselves at square one again.

The one who seeks his identity from Profession realises that there comes a time when he can't work. The one who seeks it from Knowledge learns of it's limitlessness and it's obsoleteness over time. The one who seeks it thruogh Pleasure reaches satiety sooner than he thought he would. The one who seeks it through Prominence finds that a more prominent guy shows up. The one who seeks it through power learns that power is short-lived and one has to give way to another more poweful than himself. The one who seeks it through Position, finds that position is not static, but fluid and eventually vanishes with time. The one who seeks it through Influence, realises that it's so tied up to one's position and with the fleeting position goes the influece as well. Those who seek it through Popularity discover that all too soon the meaning of the phrase, 'another face in the crowd.' Those who seek it through Physical appearance realise that it fades like a leaf. Those who seek it through Possession and Wealth realise that these two make themselves wings and fly away either gradually or suddenly. Those who seek identify through the Pleasure of renunciation realise that they had renounced more than just the world - they had renounced life itself  and all to no avail. Those who seek it from their Proficiency or Skill realise that their proficiency burns out like the flame of a candle, never to be relit. Those who seek it through Perfection and Excellence realise that seeking perfection and excellence is a never-ending journey. Those who seek it from their Parents find themselves living in the shadows all their lives, never really discovering their true identity. Those who seek it from their Children are left frustrated, because they were following those they were supposed to be leading. Those who seek it from their Past or background soon discover that their past is past, never to be regained and offers nothing more than memories. Those who seek their identity from Man-made Religion, find that they've barked up a tree that itself is confused with it's identity. 

If the above is true of all the prevalent pursuits for one's identity, what then is the answer to the question, 'Whom am I?' Let me attempt to answer this with an illustration using an everyday object that most of us are familiar with - a mobile phone. If we were to ask the question, "What is this?" we would promptly get answers to the question with no difficulty at all. But let's imagine for a moment that this mobile phone was taken to some remote untouched tribe where they've never seen a phone or a mobile phone their entire lives. If we asked them the same question, we would not get the answer; we would perhaps get only guesses of what it might be. 

Everything around us was made known to us by someone at some point in our lives, and until we discovered what these things were, we were in the dark about thier identity. Someone who knew what it was taught us about it and it's purpose. It's similar to our own identity. Many of us are asking the question, "Who am I?" and we're asking it to most of those who are in the dark themselves. So we end up playing a big guessing game. But there are those amongst us who have discovered the answer to that question and our search has ended. We are now in a position to answer this question to those who are still searching for the answer. 

Now, just because we claim to have the answers, does not mean we are going to be believed, and understandably so. Why should someone beleive us? Not unless we have a logical explanation that appeals to them. So let's explore the logical explanation and try to arrive at the answer together

Let's go back to the illustration of the mobile phone in a remote tribe - they don't know what it is and let's assume that someone who knows tries to explain what it is and even demonstrates how to use it but they still don't believe, they have another option. They can go to the company that manufactured the mobile phone and ask them what it was and what it's purpose was. And if they take the effort to do that, and if they are willing to believe what they hear, and then if they are willing to begin experiemting with it, they will eventually discover that what they heard was true, but there are a few 'ifs' in that statement that need to be taken into account. 

Likewise, we too as humans have been created by God who knows who we are and why we were created. And if we are willing to take the time to seek God, then we are bound  to discover the answer to this  question ourselves and our search will be over. But for that to happen, we would need to be honestly open to seeking God and not be closed-minded. And as we hear various seeming theories, we need to be willing to put  into practice what we hear, to give ourselves the chance to prove whether or not what we hear is true. But for us to be able to take this step of discovering our identity through God, we need to first discover who God is and I hope to look at that question in our next blog, entitled, 'Who is God? Part 1'

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Michael Collins

Email: mikesthersusy@gmail.com

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