Who We Are

When some one asks you who you are, what are they asking really? Do they want your name? Or do they want something more? Do they want the social security number, or maybe the driver's license? In fact, many of the states in this great US, have the number as the same thing. I've always thought this was a bad idea, and now it seems that a lot of hackers who thought this was a great idea, have now exposed it wonderfully. Maybe they want you to point out what you believe in or see as your staked claim of life. In truth, the question is harder than anyone seems to realize, or appears to care.

The reality of our existence is simple. We are who someone perceives us to be. I am the person YOU see me as. For I know who I am, and I could convey all the people I know that I am. I am an "EX", a son, a grandson, a nephew, a boyfriend, a step dad, a foster parent, a friend, and a daddy. But those are merely the labels that I have that the people who are in those particular roles see me as. There have been some who have seen me as a hero, an almost perfection of the human race. Looking into my own soul, I doubted that label. But they persisted, and who am I to disagree with someone else's ideas, perceptions, and thoughts. For those exact ideas are theirs and no elses. Then...when I fell from this ivory tower, i was blamed. Blamed for not being what they thought I was. Blamed for not living up to their expectations. Blamed for not fitting the mold they decided fit me in their mind. One quote that stands out: "I really thought you were so great. My favorite. Now I'm sad to see that all completely wrong." Was I to blame for the perception they put on me?

Some have seen me as a teacher. What is a teacher but a person who teaches you what you want or need to learn. They are a human purveyor of knowledge, just as a book is a non-human purveyor of knowledge. i gave many many people the knowledge they needed. I gave many the information hey wanted. In return, I was suppose to act as they perceived someone who said the things I said would act. Some thought it was saintly. Some thought it was a stagnancy. Some even saw it as a needed constant in their lives even though I stated that the only thing that is constant is change.

In reality, I am who I pretend to be. For we are all the people we pretend we are. We pretend we are this mortal husk. We act on the information that we were given. Psychologist will tell you that we are merely acting out the supposed reality that we have decided is the answer to all of the stimuli we have received. If we are told we are something long enough, we become it. This is either good or bad. We think the way society and our culture has told us to think, and then state that we are free thinkers. The reality is that we are who others perceive us as it their eyes; and in ours...we are the person we decide we are.

For all who are disappointed about how a person is or isn't, looking into your soul before looking into theirs.