Say it as it is: Who am I?

Say it as it is: Who am I?: "A few weeks ago I started a meditation course and was quite surprised when I received a homework assi..."

Who am I?

A few weeks ago I started a meditation course and was quite surprised when I received a homework assignment asking me to to answer a simple question: 

Who am I?

After closely considering the this question and spending hours staring at a blank page trying to write down who I am, I came to the realization that I am very similar to that piece of paper.

On the day of my birth, I was like a clean sheet of paper, anxiously waiting to learn and have someone leave a mark on me. However, as soon as I was put into my mother’s arms and started experiencing the world, my page became stained with ink. Every person I have met and shared experiences with, contributed a little ink to my page. The bad experiences caused some wrinkles and even a few tears while the good experiences ironed out these wrinkles in an attempt to restore my original appearance.

I came to realize that everything I experienced was written down on my blank page and today I can look back at my life and read through this story which is roughly scribbled across my page. On a bad day, I look back at my life and I only see the wrinkles, tears and illegible writing that seems to make no sense. But on a good day, I am able to reflect on the positive aspects of my life experience, see through the stains and reflect on the positive aspects of my life.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard I try, I am unable to erase any of my experiences from my sheet. At the end of the day, I need to change my approach to reading my page. I need to learn from my mistakes, focus on the love and happiness and use the negative experiences as an opportunity to strengthen my sheet of life.

So when it comes to who I am. I finally understand.

To others, I might seem like a crumpled up piece of trash. But to me, I am an incomplete poem on an imperfect page, waiting patiently for my story to be completed.

But that leaves another question in my mind... Who are you?

Just putting it out there...