Focus on the “Who” Not the “What”

As many of you know, I am a big believer and reader of life books. You know the ones that are all about understanding the world and one's place in it. I am not necessarily trying to find more meaning to my own life but to life itself. I think there are layers of complexity that remain untapped by many in a lifetime. I seek to know more about life because I rather actively work towards understanding life more than existence.

I am not actively seeking what I want to be, but who I want to be. I think once I know myself on that level, everything else will just fall into place. We focus on the “what” we want to be because our society forces us to seek it actively on a daily basis. But if I could teach future generations one thing, it would be that you should actively seek the “who”. The “who” is who you are in every aspect of your life. You will make decisions more confidently. You will be an honest person to others and yourself. And above all, you will be happy within. I only know a handful of people that can truly say they know who they are without describing themselves as “what” they are.

I once heard a speaker say that it is better to live 30 years than to exist for 100. It resonated with me. To really live, is to actively commit to the now, the present moment. We are so accustomed to think about our past and our future and we forget that the “now” is the only time we ever truly present.

Eckhart Tolle explains this concept of living in the now in his book, Stillness Speaks. He states the following:

For most things in life, you need time: to learn a new skill, build a house, become an expert, make a cup of tea…Time is useless, however, for the most essential thing in life, the one thing that really matters: self-realization, which means knowing who you are beyond the surface self- beyond your name, your physical form, your history, your story. You cannot find yourself in the past or future. The only place where you can find yourself is in the Now.” (54)

There is so much depth to this notion that most people don’t dare to find out who they are because they are afraid to see how much beauty, inner peace and power they hold within. If you have the desire to really get to know yourself, do it in the now. Most people say, “I want to get to know myself”. Well, do it now. It is not something you can set aside as a future endeavour or project. Discovering who you really are, is living each moment and letting stillness set in through your awareness in the present. 

I know this post may not seem so complete, but that is because I am still discovering more what it is to be a “who” rather than a “what”. I will keep reading and seeking and when more thoughts seem to come together, I will share them with whoever wants to hear them or even better discuss them. For now, I go back to the books and the writing and hope that my complete and undivided attention to the “now” will lead me to greater awareness.