Day 213: Who Are You Really?
Who are you really? This is a huge question to ask and one that doesn't often come with an easy answer. You might wonder if the answer to that question is five foot eight inches with brown hair and blue eyes (my personal physical description) or in the way other people see you. Maybe the answer in somewhere hidden away deep inside, well let's see shall we. Let's see if we can figure out who we are together.
I read a quote recently and it's talking about meeting a new person, what to do and what not to do. And I wanted to share it with you because it's quite powerful when it comes to yourself as well. It goes like this: "Don't ask them what they do or like to eat or where they live or have studied. Ask them instead what they're living for, what's keeping them from what they'd like to live for, what they crave to read and learn about, what is the drive that keeps them going, or what calls to them most when they're close to their edge or just before they slip into sleep."
What are you living for? Such a short little question. Five words that will pull you deeper into yourself than you've ever managed to go. So let's discover what we're living for, because if we don't know who we are really we'll never figure out where we should be going. Grab a piece of paper and a pen, it's time to dive deep into who we are truly.
Let's answer this nebulous question that can have so many different answer. I'm sure there's a lot of things you're living for. Causes, feelings, people, etc. Take some time to really figure this out, it's not an easy question to answer and it doesn't need to be answered right away. Sit with it a while and feel the weight. To simply the pages of text I wrote, I came up with three areas in which I am truly living for: connection, memories, and being able to feel truly alive.
Another question you can digest is this, what drives you and keeps you going? Figuring out what is pushing you forward is an incredibly powerful tool to understanding who you are. Are there certain emotions or even memories that are fueling your flight? There could be a million reasons why someone would chase after something, but there's not in your case. There is something very specific pushing you along, what is it? I am driven by the fear of never accomplishing my dreams and my passions.
What passion burns under your fingernails? What is something that you simply cannot put down or leave alone? This could be a career, a subject, a cause, whatever it may be it weighs down on your heart. You cannon ignore your passion, it calls to you even when you feel like turning away. Look for areas in your life where you feel intense emotions, the full scale of emotions. Anger, sadness, joy, peace, fear, etc. My passions are much like the things I am living for, connections, memories and feeling alive. But on a very practical scale I have a deep passion for telling stories, creating, and abandoned buildings.
My passions or abandoned buildings is an interesting one to mention, because I feel it with intense emotions of sadness. I see these beautiful old buildings falling apart, torn down, or in pieces in repurpose yards, and feel a heavy weight in my heart. Before I wasn't sure what to do about it, but I've come up with a plan and am currently in phase one where I am doing my Fragments of Decay photo series. Which is focused on abandoned buildings. If you have a passion, watch where it will lead you.
And last but not least, what are ten important qualities about yourself? Identifying characteristics that truly make up the core of who you are can be a really helpful way to pinpoint who you are on the inside. Look for characteristics that have always been there, grown stronger over time, or in critical situations have turned out to be exactly what you need. For me those ten qualities are passionate, determined, loyal, creative, punctual, compassionate, adventurous, confident, and romantic.
I hope this has been a successful journey for you. Answer questions like these honestly and with a lot of words usually leads me to realizations about myself that I didn't fully realize before. You truly know who you are underneath everything, but something it takes the right question to pull the answer out in front of your eyes. Who you are will never be found in the world or in what others say, it's right there inside of you waiting to be explored.
Until Next Time,
Lillian Merritt
