A Map With No Names

 I suppose every blog entry should have a purpose. To teach something new, for example. This puts me in the precarious position of having to know something that I think other people may also want to know. The thing is, I don't really know anything. Maybe this is part of my 'motto' or something.

I find that the older I get, the less I really know about myself. I don't want to take anything for granted. And I wonder, how much of my identity is predetermined? Let's talk about Michael Jackson for a moment. He was born into a family of singing sensations. I doubt he had any memory of not being famous. People were always watching him. I'm sure this had a profound effect on his concept of self. No doubt he was quite self-conscious (who wouldn't be with millions of people following their every move?)

I'm not suggesting that everyone would make the same choices in his position. But thinking in this regard, our parents' financial situation, our home country, our appearance and our education go a long way in determining how we will act and react in our lives. More and more, I feel that these are only superficial aspects of our identity, of who we are.

Education, for example, is partly our choice. I chose my university because it was the best, and I could get in. But isn't that such the obvious choice. If you were in my position, you would have done the same. And if you had my set of strengths and weaknesses, you would have ended up in the same major. So how much does my education really say about who I am on a deeper level? I don't think it says much.

I think our true identity can be seen when we do very subtle things, like draw pictures, play music, help people we don't know, and sometimes, maybe, when we write blogs. Doing such things help divorce us just a little from our less choice-based conditions like education or appearance. A loss of face and identity to give us an opportunity to find it again. Without knowing the painter, or the musician, you can focus on their works and see a little more beyond the superficial.

▼▽▼▼【講師】Sandy先生のバックナンバー━━━━━━━━
・【The Fifth Season】2010.06.02 (Wed)