WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?

“We have to create culture, don’t watch TV, don’t even listen to NPR. Create your own road show. The nexus of space and time where you are now is the most immediate sector of your universe, and if you’re worrying about Michael Jackson or Bill Clinton or somebody else, then you are disempowered, you’re giving it all away to icons, icons which are maintained by an electronic media so that you want to dress like X or have lips like Y. This is all cultural diversion, and what is real is you and your friends…” Terence McKenna

Identity Crisis

If no one has ever asked you who you are or who you think you are, chances are you don’t pay attention, you are an incurable optimist qualifying you to be the stereotypical nice guy as the case may be, or you simply need to go out more. You should know by now that there are loads of stressed out people out there and the tendencies of pissing them off even more escalates by the second, so one way or another if you embrace the natural order of ways to resist overbearing attitudes, it is very natural for the strange, oppressive and the self-proclaimed and relatively dominant folks to be curious, who is this dude by the way? But seriously, who do you think you are…really?

This present generation has probably witnessed the most experiments ever, especially upon people’s emotions and reactions usually recorded in candid cameras. They however vary from having international stars such as in soccer, movies, music or any other public figures feigning to be ordinary persons in the midst of regular people, and how the people shout in excitement when they realize they have been mingling with stars all along, to measuring our level of empathy to complete strangers that we refer to as nobodies, interesting right? I’d say.

 

In the past century there have been numerous escalated cases of multiple personality disorders, so much that it has become a major issue in the legal circles on the basis of justification for criminals that have done terrible things for technically not being guilty because some other character took over their brain like a kind of hypnotism.

As if that is not bad enough, some people actually deliberately strike off their own identities from the face of the earth only to embrace entirely new or different ones.

“Too many people spend money they earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like”…Will Rogers

Your wish is my command

My first knowledge of the existence of a genie was when I saw the Aladin cartoon, it excited me beyond measure to discover that by just rubbing a lamp gently, a genie would appear and ask me to make three wishes, but I wish that could actually happen, or I’d rather stop wishing at this point because now I’m older and I have realized it’s just kids' fantasy.

Knowing who we truly are is capable of solving the complicated jigsaw of life and can blaze a trail towards the path of self discovery and fulfillment, rather than just go to sleep and expect our wishes of building a bridge come into fruition without actually getting to work.

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you do for others remain as your legacy”…Kalu Ndukwe Kalu

 

Welcome to a whole new world where cars are fast but man is even faster especially as information moves at the speed of light and by implication literally leaves some people behind. 
Yes, some people are being left behind in this fast paced world we currently dwell in. A school of thought teaches us that when we are under pressure the true revelations of who we really are show clearly and we usually do the extraordinary things that are embedded within us. The explanation goes further to say that for instance if you were given a knife to stab someone and you actually do it, you had the intention to do it on your own before (I apologize for the dark picture), but if you think about it you'll probably find that its true.

This implies that people with negative attitudes are usually left behind in the positive activities of this beautiful world apparently clueless of the perks life has in store for them if only they embraced the goodness within them, rather than become selfish and investing in themselves only and not trying to fill the void of life with their resources which they waste on frivolities.

“Performance is done for the sight and approval of others. Service is done knowing that God is watching and approving whether or not anyone else is.” Mark Driscoll

Who are you really?

This is probably the most difficult question ever, because people all over the world constantly worry themselves searching for their relevance with hunger and confusion, during this quest they make huge mistakes and are often misjudged and misunderstood.

Sages from history and the holy books that were recorded to have discovered their true identities deprived themselves of the pleasures of life and subjected themselves to strict lifestyles and devoted their lives to selfless causes especially by disregarding material things and becoming servant leaders that gave priority to less privileged people of societies.

 

So with the massive changes that the world is presently encountering where you can see a phone call, listen to a book, bad can actually mean good, cool can mean hot and also the other way round, multi-tasking is imperative and working smart is the new hard work. Paradigms are fast shifting and the world is shaping us to become who they want us to be, giving us a few food variety that is prone to cancer due to processing and preservation, cheaper of course than the organic version, we are truly losing ourselves to the rhythm that we are forcing nature to play.

Who do you think you are? No doubt you are a wonderful creature designed to conquer the world, but sadly you are vulnerable to the destruction you created, your development has brought pollution, stress, worry, politics, depression, insecurity, greed, corruption, environmental degradation, misconceptions and disloyalty. 
If after going through all these uncleanness you come out unhurt and with an intact temperament, then you are the chosen one that has the heart to plant a lasting legacy in the fertile soil called earth..

So good luck on your journey to self discovery, but remember you have to embark on it first, and then you can brace yourself for the surprises you shall encounter on the greatest trip of a life time.

Thank you.

Akin Abimbola (akinzogee@yahoo.com)

Sources:

Google

Wikipedia

Good reads

Brainy Quote
Identity (Movie)