If I were to ask you, ‘Where are you?’ How do you answer that question?\u00a0 Generally speaking, we choose the label by which the ground under our feet is identified and stop thinking any further.\u00a0 Perhaps we are in ‘Chicago’ (Illinois, USA), which is our answer.\u00a0 Well, where is Chicago?\u00a0 On a planet rotating around a star.\u00a0 The star is in an arm of a galaxy, moving around a black hole.\u00a0 Finally,\u00a0 the galaxy itself is moving in an ever-expanding universe.\u00a0 In real terms, ‘Where are you?’ changes rapidly every moment.\u00a0 However,\u00a0 we do not have a universal grid to measure our absolute position, so a basic answer such as Chicago works for reference.<\/p>\n
Akin to the question, ‘Where are you?’ How do you answer the question, ‘Who are you?’\u00a0 We choose basic labels without diving too deep and throw them out to satisfy the inquiry.\u00a0 Let us pretend you chose the term ‘Kind’ as an answer.\u00a0 What is the definition of ‘kind?’\u00a0 We do not have a universal grid to measure absolute kindness, so it will always remain relative to a person’s experiences and judgments.\u00a0 Someone calling themselves kind is instead saying, “I am kinder than meaner on average,” based on their threshold of what ‘kind’ is.<\/p>\n
The deeper we delve into ourselves, the more unknowable we become.\u00a0 If we hold a piece of string in our hands, we quickly call it string.\u00a0 If we delve deeper into the string, we find atoms, which are protons, neutrons, and electrons.\u00a0 Examining those even closer, we find quarks, and trying to pinpoint quarks and other quantum particles is no easy feat.\u00a0 Similarly, we may appear to be one monolithic thing on the surface. \u00a0Upon closer examination, we are not only comprised of many things, but those things are elusive and changing.<\/p>\n
We often punish ourselves for failing to be who we thought we wanted to be.\u00a0 All too often, our focus is anywhere but on who we are and how to nurture it.\u00a0 Buddhism teaches us that the root of all suffering is attachment; in this case, what we are attached to our ideas of ourselves that only exist in our minds as projections.\u00a0 We project ourselves as something we are not in our minds, and through those projections, we set up goals that will not be attainable as they do not fit with our true nature.\u00a0 As our authentic selves, we fail at these goals and then experience guilt and shame for failing.\u00a0 However, it wasn’t the effort that was erroneous; it was not respecting our true nature originally.<\/p>\n
If we zoom in far enough, we are unknowable.\u00a0 Our individual decisions may change due to factors such as fatigue, experience vs. curiosity, risk management, stress levels, etc. \u00a0However, we can take the time to learn ourselves to a ‘more often than not’ degree.\u00a0 We can also look at goals as a ‘more often than not’ viewpoint.\u00a0 We can practice kindness more often than not, whereas before, we were apathetic.\u00a0 If being kind is who we truly want to be, we can work to become kinder over time.\u00a0 Working hard for something you don’t care about is called ‘stress.’\u00a0 Working hard for something we love is called ‘passion.’\u00a0 Working on ourselves is rarely time wasted.\u00a0 If we fail at our goal (in this case, being kinder), check to see if it is your true self making that goal or something you got distracted (a projection) doing.\u00a0 If your true self is slipping up, practice forgiveness and try again.\u00a0 If it isn’t your true self, put it down and return to your true self, even if it takes some introspection to remember or (re)discover who that is; you are worth it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If I were to ask you, ‘Where are you?’ How do you answer that question?\u00a0 Generally speaking, we choose the label by which the ground under our feet is identified and stop thinking any further.\u00a0 Perhaps we are in ‘Chicago’ (Illinois, USA), which is our answer.\u00a0 Well, where is Chicago?\u00a0 On a planet rotating around […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[304],"tags":[315,316,317],"class_list":["post-28358","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dear-diary","tag-315","tag-forgiveness","tag-identity"],"yoast_head":"\n