Who are you?

Think about a character. It could be yourself or one borrowed from a book, a movie, or any other source. How much can we alter the stories while their essence remains? Would Harry Potter be Harry Potter if he had never attended Hogwarts? What if he had never befriended Ron? I’m sure you can come up with examples of your own.

Now I ask, how long would we be the same people if we started adding and removing pieces from us?

Among all our dynamic elements, there is a product of our unique biology, our story, and the narrative we weave around it. Imagine it like a tree trunk that provides strength and structure to the whole. That is part of the unique self I mentioned in ‘The subtle restrictions we seldom think of‘.

The idea sounds bizarre, but can a fish be without a sea? Can we capture a stream and store it in a bucket? Can we stop being ourselves? What happens with the core when we drift apart? Perhaps the branch is so far out from the trunk that it no longer receives the needed nutrients. Or worse, the branch may have snapped off.

We should wonder why we would walk away from ourselves. It may be a momentary satisfaction, or the avoidance of a pressing horror? Is giving up an essential part of ourselves worth it? We may not be thinking at all.

However important the cause is, a daisy’s end can be either drowning or thirst. Before we realize, the connection is gone. The sun’s warmth and brightness have left us blind. Adversity has turned the sensible flesh into stone. A bitter taste has killed our appetite. A sweet fragrance has escaped us. A harmonious sound has transformed into a deafening cacophony. Yes, we are here. Yet, we are not.

We have the chance to reconnect with ourselves again. The branch can sprout roots and attain a new nutrient source. We can restore these burnt senses. The process may be slow, clumsy, and daunting. However, we can taste the tartness of a strawberry, hear the ringing of a bell, the softness of our clothes, the aroma of freshly ground coffee beans, and see the dim color of a sunset.

The key to keeping our essence is wonder. We need to look out for that which delights us, that which frightens us, for the times we feel good, those in which we feel bad, and the reason we label them that way. We need to become experts on ourselves. Ask yourself questions, even if you think you know the answer, you may surprise yourself.

Returning to the initial question, who are you?