Becoming Who You Are

Deep inside each of us there is a kernel of truth about each of us, a seed that is purely "us". It is the essence of who we are, the best of who we are... the ultimate self-realization for each of us, compressed and bundled up neatly into a tiny seed.

It's been there since we were born, so much a part of us that consciously we aren't even aware of it. As children, we were probably more in touch with it. That kernel of the "essence of us" inspired certain kinds of play and games in our childhoods. It inspired dreams. It gave us visions of what we wanted to be when we grew up.

That kernel leaked into our subconscious, giving us certain interests, certain abilities, certain likes and dislikes. Our childlike energy and imaginations gave that kernel water and sun, and it began to take root in our souls. We began to recognize its nature, began to embrace it as a part of us, as perhaps the most important part of us.

Then came school. Years of structure, learning to focus on one thing at a time... years of training our intellect and logical mind took precedence over training our spirits, feelings, and getting in touch with our subconscious. So much emphasis was put on building muscle in the logical mind that there was little time for building up the spiritual mind. And somewhere along the way, that little kernel slipped into the background - buried deep in the subconscious.

We graduated high school, then perhaps college, took trips trying to "find ourselves", sought out teachers who could point the way, and all the time we felt like there must be something more. Surely life wasn't just about going to work, sleeping, eating, watching TV, getting married and raising kids, and then finally, dying.

Was that it? Was that all that life was about? Something nagged at us. It was on the tip of our tongue at times, but we couldn't find the words to speak its name. It was a feeling deep inside that there was something more, something very vital, something very important - and we were missing it.

We wanted answers but really didn't even know the questions to ask to get to those answers. Sometimes we went out into nature and felt closer to answers, but still they eluded us. We were the "Seekers" of our generation.

We had jobs but were not satisfied in them. They didn't fulfill us, didn't quench the fire inside, didn't give us a sense of peace and calm that all is as it should be. Certainly, we pondered, there must be more. But how to get at that elusive, hidden knowledge?

All the time that kernel inside us was banging at our insides, trying to get our attention. It was buried in the dark, yet still vibrant and full of life, full of potential. We had so closed off our subconscious minds that some messages just were not getting through to us. We spoke and thought in words, yet the language we needed to listen to spoke in images, feelings, signs, dreams, and visions.

There was a thread that ran throughout our entire lives - perhaps an interest, perhaps an ability, perhaps something that beckoned to us - a thread that was there when we were children... a thread that ran through our lives and still runs through our lives. That was the kernel trying to get our attention... that was the essence of who we are, the best of who we are in its most basic form.

We are already who we are deep inside. The kernel, the essence of us, is the embodiment of who we are, just as the acorn holds everything within it to make a magnificent oak tree. We each have such an acorn inside us, waiting to flourish into everything it was meant to be.

In that sense, we are becoming who we are. Just as the acorn is becoming the oak tree - we are becoming who we are. That is, we are if we are nurturing that seed, that kernel. We are becoming who we are if we have first found what that kernel, what that essence is. For some, that is a journey in and of itself... but a journey well worth taking.

The few, the fortunate "Seekers" who have discovered and nurtured that part of themselves that is the essence of themselves, the best of themselves - those Seekers become who they are. Those Seekers reach self-realization. Some may even call it nirvana. Some may simply call it "understanding", while others may call it "wisdom".

But all of those are just words trying to describe something that belies description. Becoming who we are is a journey that is in and of itself a destination. Becoming who we are is reaching a state of inner peace, knowing we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. Becoming who we are is the single most fulfilling, most important thing we can do with our lives.

All we have to do is to first find that inner voice and then start listening to it - and let that voice speak loudly. It will lead us to finally become who we really are.