Know Who You Are

Know who you are

A profound command ordained by the Almighty at the moment of birth.

Know who you are

A challenge that promises a lifelong offering of the extremity of both pleasure and pain.

Know who you are

An affirmation of commitment on the journey towards Knowledge. Wisdom. Enlightenment.

Who am I? I am an artist. My life is my masterpiece. The pages of my past are awash with the most vivid colors of emotion ever spread on canvas. I have tempered the tapestry with the contrast of passionate purpose against the backdrop of consistent callousness.

Who am I? My ancestry hails from the Indus valley. I originated from the civilizations of Ethopia and Egypt. I weave the silk alongside Can Nü. I sip from the oases of Mesopotamia, and am fed by the power of the Himalayas and the Caucuses. I ascend the steps of the Mayan temples and surf with the chieftans of Polynesia.

We study the past to illuminate the present and guide the future. My heritage alone does not define me. I am a product of everyone I met and everywhere I went. My parents who are with me in every breath of life, and the stranger of whose features I will never think twice. The sights, sounds and smells. The tastes and touch. The social landscape, if you will. Globally.

But I am still incomplete. I can by this be a newly born bird or a grain of sand. An earthen puppet devoid of self. Who am I? I cherish the natural beauty that stimulates me with the sophistication of its simplicity. The stability of the earth. The fluidity of water. The freedom of the wind. The dance of the flame.

These but bombard me with their boldfaced-ness, and astound me with their appearances. They can only do to me as I choose of them, and no more. Who am I? Am I my responses to them? For without them, I am truly nobody. Nothing.

Yet still I am what I value in all that I face. Survival? Like the other beasts in this jungle we call life? Me as I see myself or me as perceived by others? Which comes first? Which takes precedence? Would I die to preserve my name? My honour? Is this all that I have aside a few lonely hours? Am I resilient and would bounce back despite any adversity? Do I value honesty? At any cost? At the brink of death? Not Me! I would lie and run away. Live to fight another day. Or so they say.

I am restless as the bamboo. Reflective as the pond. A mirror of life. Nay – I am the translucent tadpole. You will look to me and see what is beyond. For this is all that I am. An illusion. A Whisper. A means to an end. The finger that points to the moon – a guide to beauty. Of little value on its own, but cherished once the light is shone.

I have it! I know it now. I know who I am. I am you. A finger pointing to beauty. For I am with you now, and forever shall be.

Please take care of me.