The Search For Who We Really Are

The search for “Who we really are” Is this the question, the key question for each of us?

If we can identify the true self we most want to be, the original self we were born to be, are we then going to be our happiest?  Sometimes it is called searching for our higher purpose, sometimes it is called the soul’s potential that we are meant to fulfill, and sometimes it is called our true calling. It is the theme of my book, PERMISSION GRANTED, a personal memoir with a self-help focus.

Being happy, living a happy life are topics very much in the popular literature these days. One thing is certain; searching for our innermost character is what we should be doing a lot of, if we want to live a life we can love and that will allow us to have the best life experience possible.

When I was growing up a key question often asked of me or of any young person was “What are you going to be when you grow up?” The answer expected was one that named an occupation, such as teacher, doctor, soldier, business man, etc. I do not think anyone expected a child to say “I am going to be the real ME.” For one thing, what child would have known how to explain their real ME at that point in their lives; they were too busy just being that. In that era, up until the age of 5, I believe a child was very much being their real ME while parents, and then teachers, were trying to mold the child to their and society’s expectations. Most parents would not even have any discussion with their offspring about a real ME. Some lucky children had a different environment but that was rare.

For most parents, displayed talents, or lack of them, would provide the clues for the child’s future. Comments such as, “You spend a lot of time trying to convince me that I should let you do what you want to do. Does this mean you are going to be a lawyer, or a salesman, or a politician?” Or, “It’s fun to sing and dance, and draw pictures, but that won’t make any money.”

 What if the Child had said, “I am going to be a happy person”?  How amusing an answer and yet probably the most intelligent of answers that a child could give. Next question could have been, “Well, what makes you happy now?”  Certainly that would have led to a much more meaningful discussion, but those discussions were not the run of the mill.

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