Have you been in a situation where you are made to ask yourself this question; who am I? It is a question that most persons do not want to ask not because they are not humans, but because they are not certain who they are and they prefer to live in denial. One good thing about asking yourself this question is that it will lead you to what I call self-actualization or simply put self-knowledge. When a child is born, he is born completely plain i.e. he has no memories of where he is coming from or where he has been all this while. His mind is as pure as water which is why children are seen as a clean slate ready to be written upon.
When a child begins to grow, he starts to develop his mind as well through learning by what he sees and at this time he has what is known as a photographic memory. This is the reason why a child will always act out what he has seen the parents or older siblings do. Parents are strongly advised at this stage to be extremely cautious of what they do in the presence of the child.
As the child continues to grow, he starts to develop his sense of understanding and that is when he starts to register words in his mind. This increases his curiosity level and makes him constantly ask questions about anything and everything that he hears or sees.
It is at this time that a child is meant to be handled with more carefulness because whatever he assimilates may be very hard for him to let go of when he grows up. This is the reason the Igbo people of Nigeria have an adage that says that one does not learn how to use the left hand at old age. While the child is growing and receiving a lot of training both directly and indirectly, from parents, older siblings, friends and even strangers alike, he is not bothered about making the right choices rather what he does is to try out everything and anything he learns and if someone or his parents frowns at any attitude he portrays, he will automatically know that the attitude is not good and this will make him register it in the box of his mind where negative things are kept.
When this same child comes of age i.e. he has gotten old enough to make decisions for himself, his actions and whatever he does will now be used to judge him at all times and this is when we now say that a child is of legal age. There is something very important we must try to understand. Every human has two different boxes in their minds where they store both right and wrong things and once we get to that age of making decisions, we must understand that we cannot make excuses for any mistake we make at this point which is why we end up taking whatever consequences that comes from our mistakes. It is at this time that one should ask this self-actualising question in a bid to becoming a better person.
Who am I is a question that cuts across your identity as a person to that which you carry inside of you as a human being? For instance, people ask these questions when you must have done something or have acted in a way that makes them doubt if you are truly human. You will hear questions like, what kind of person are you? Who are you? Why are you like this? Are you a human being at all?
These and many other questions are thrown at us whenever we act out of place and this is done as a means for us to ask ourselves that personal question that will lead us into understanding why we do or act the way we do. As long as you have been born and you see yourself as a human being, you must answer this question as it affects you. You may be the richest man on earth, you may be the wisest of all your peers but if you have not given a personal answer to this question then you are not yet living.
This question opens so many doors which will lead you into knowing your ability as a person. Don’t say you are not ready or you already know who you are because you have a good business and things are going on well for you. You may be doing well but not living your purpose in life and this is where this question comes into play.
Ask yourself this question today and strive hard to give yourself an honest answer. I have come to understand that no matter how we try to deceive others about who we are, we cannot deceive ourselves because each time we look into the mirror, we see ourselves for who we are. Therefore I urge you to look yourself in the mirror and give yourself an honest answer to the question WHO AM I.
Have a wonderful weekend.
