What Defines You?

What defines you, and how? This one question could be thrown to us at some unexpected moment. Do we have a prompt answer for this one? If you do, well and good. It could be seen that you’ve been “keeping in touch” with your inner self, . Alternatively, this question may catch us off-balance and tongue tied, or probably lost in one time or another. The “what” aspect could be lost with the “how” part if we are not careful.

Do we really know who we are? How do we define ourselves? Would it be, “by what we have; by what we do?” Or, “By what we have done?” Could we really define ourselves accurately? Not really, I doubt it.

Life is a constant change. Therefore, as long as we are alive, we are continuously defining ourselves, our lives. I observed that most of us tend to compare our life with that of the people around us. Some tend to measure their accomplishments and/or failure by looking into other people’s lives. In my opinion however, other people’s success could not lessen our character. Moreover, other people’s shortcomings could not possibly elevate us higher than the rest of the humanity.

How and why could one think to be more or less, deserving than that of other people? We tend to rationalize by mentioning our educational status or the items in our” wall of fame”. This may not be accurately true. We could be the most powerful, the riches, or the most famous person in the whole universe, but are these enough basis for us to believe that we are far better than the rest? Are we, really? The things that we have done and achieved, the value of our resources, the level of influence that we, all these are just part of the whole. To concentrate and believe that these are the absolute basis may not be entirely accurate.

“What defines you, and how?” This question could appear to be as undisruptive as some talk about the weather. However, in reality, it could open the door for us to probe deeper into our inner self. It’s like a one-time madness as we try to peek into the arrays of realities deep within us.

The truth is we are defining ourselves with the kind of character that we have. It’s like a mosaic that’s being arranged slowly by every experience and circumstances that came our way. Every experience that we have contributes to the masterpiece that we try to build with all the wisdom and lessons we gain from all the eruditions that we may encounter. The person in us would be seen clearer through every turns and phases of our lives, mainly through our capacity to co-exist with equal respect to everything around us. Our very own “mosaic” will be the end-result of all our actions guided by our reasoning and convictions.

True test of character comes from the result of the level of compassion that we share with all the things around us, our manner in dealing with life in general and most importantly, our capacity to love and care without any selfish reason. I think that these realities will definitely gave us a clearer view of who we are. I can go on and write down hundred ways to paint the picture of how one’s person is defined. However, I know that we have our individual ways of seeing and defining things. How about you, could you tell, what defines you?

©2007november2007leofinajanegalleta