Who are you? – Gary Young MySpace Blog

If I asked you who you are, what would you tell me? Your name? I had an interesting conversation with a friend today. She said she was getting comments about how nice she looked, dressing up for work, but it made her sad because “this” isn’t her.

I said: The clothes don’t define you. The other clothes don’t define you. You define you.

And that got me thinking. Who are we? We’re not what we wear, drive, own, get paid for, our attitude, our style. We’re not what we do or even what we’ve done. We’re not even the choices we make. Not really; not in totality. But we’re definitely something or someone with established beliefs, patterns, reactions, views, likes/dislikes, You could say that we’re the sum of our experiences but … more. Much more. Because we can change at any time if we choose or under the right circumstances and stimuli.

We are … a snapshot. A slice of being.

I have a long lost friend that I haven’t seen or talked to since some time around 1994 or 1995. He was just a kid at the time. A great person, you know, with a big heart, serious talent and a lot on his mind. I moved to California and lost touch with him, his brother and sister (Hi, LH). He’s in prison now. I wrote him a letter, kind of nervous, wondering if he’d write back or want to after all these years and after everything he must have been through. I kind of didn’t know what to say because I remember him as a kid and he’s definitely not a kid anymore. And it blew my mind because his voice in writing was the same as 11 years ago … but with 11 years of life in it. He’s still that guy with a big heart, serious talent and a lot on his mind.

That whole long lost crowd … you ever catch up to a friend you haven’t seen in years? Like, a decade or longer? There’s a sensation like 10 years of missing someone comes over you all at once. It’s the painful realization of years of friendship lost. It’s joy like you’ve recovered a part of yourself that’s been missing for too long.

Who are we? For that connection to still be there after so long. We’re every cross-section of awareness, conscious and unconscious, that we’ve ever been, translucent from surface to core with that profound lustrous sheen like plum skin.

Maybe the question should be, who are you right now? But will you be the same you after you answer the question?

comments

Linda

It’s funny that you ask that. I’ve asked myself the same question over and over again for years. As a matter of fact, I still do. Who am I? The fake person that I’ve become, only to hide my true feelings, doesn’t quite make sense to me. Why do I put on a front just because I don’t want others to know how I really feel?Hmmmm……gee I dunno! Sometimes we don’t know why we do the things we do. Have you ever wondered if you would of just been honest with yourself and others about the way you felt about something, what the outcome would of been? I ask myself from time to time, damn, why didn’t you just open up and say something? You could of told them but you didn’t! Now you’ll never know. I think the real me, would be open and honest with myself, and express how I feel. The fake me would chicken out and stay quiet, never to tell a soul what I hide inside. But then again, what do I know, I don’t even know who I am!!! Posted by Linda on Apr 11, 2006 11:56 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]

Gary Young

Okay.  Finally.  Done working for today and I’m going to do this before I head off to either home or Twin’s Lounge.  Whichever way the car takes me. Thanks for the comment, Linda.  It’s a good ‘un.  Making me think, which is hard to do right now.  Thinking am hard.  So what I’m about to say probably isn’t going to make much sense or it’ll sound cryptic or hokey or new age-y or Landmarkish.  Here’s my thought which does not dismiss what you’re saying, by the way.  I definitely get what you’re saying.  Been there, y’know.  I’m just seeing it a little differently. There is no fake us.  You’re all real, woman.  The voice in our heads when we think to ourselves and that nags us about how we could have done things differently?  That’s not us anymore than our tongues are who we are.  I was thinking about this some more today and I realized something.  You know how there are times when you really get something that someone has told you before but it doesn’t really click until you arrive there yourself?  I had one of those moments today. Who we are is who we’re choosing to be at every moment. And it changes at every moment.  Or it doesn’t, depending on what we choose.  I, most of us, believe that our experiences — the sum of our pasts —  make us who and what we are.  And there are very good reasons for why we do the things we do and react the way we do, verdad. But what if we choose to be something different right now — just for this moment.  What if I choose to mountain bike on Saturday morning instead of eating a big breakfast and falling asleep to Tivo’d episodes of “City Confidential”.  What if I make that choice every time the opportunity arises?  What if I choose to write a song every night for a week instead of watching TV (or working overtime)?  What if I call one DC club a day to set up a gig?  Conversely, what if I bottle up what I think and feel and distance myself from the people around me?  What if I go right instead of left? Y’all see my point, I’m sure.  We’re not … how do I say this.  We’re not predestined by our pasts.  We can choose to choose.  And if that’s the case, we can choose anything and therefore we can be … in the moment.  Anything. Ouch.  That hurt my brain.  I’ve got to get out of here. Good night, America. Posted by Gary Young on Apr 12, 2006 9:39 PM [Remove] [Reply to this]