Provision #160: Am I Me?

LifeTrek Provision

I hope you've enjoyed reading this 10-part series of LifeTrek Provisions as much as I've enjoyed writing them out and receiving your replies. Next week I unveil a new series in a new format with a new name. Thanks to all who contributed thoughts, reflections, and ideas in the "Name that Newsletter" contest. You'll have to wait one more week to get the scoop.

This series was designed to get us thinking. It's been estimated that people average about 50,000 thoughts per day, and that 95% of those thoughts are repeats from the day before. This series was designed to stimulate a few new thoughts. Here's a quick recap of each question, with a one-sentence summary of the accompanying LifeTrek Provision.

1. "Am I Here?"• Am I fully present in the here and now, appreciating all it has to offer, or is my mind a million miles away?
2. "Am I Hungry?" Am I physically hungry, or am I eating for some other reason • to meet or mask some other need?
3. "Am I Happy?" Am I doing what I want to be doing with energy rising, or am I stuck in a rut of unsatisfying activity with energy falling?
4. "Am I Healthy?" Am I in a state of physical, mental, or social well being, or am I compromising the delicate balance of body, mind, and spirit?
5. "Am I Helpful?" Am I extending myself for the well being of others, or am I thinking of and serving only myself?
6. "Am I Honest?" Am I willing to suffer the consequences of admitting and speaking the truth, or would I rather play fast and loose with the truth?
7. "Am I Holy?" Am I aware of the ever-present witnessing awareness or am I oblivious to its steady, benevolent tug?
8. "Am I Humorous?" Do I laugh, and cause others to laugh, many times a day or am I too serious and responsible?
9. "Am I Humble?" Do I gracefully flow through and with life or do I demand that life treat me especially well, as though I were up on a pedestal?

These questions can make for a lifetime of meaningful pursuits, and they can all be contemplated through the final question, "Am I Me?" This question, like "Am I Here?" seems obvious enough. Who else would I be? How can I not be me?

For one thing, you can live someone else's dream. That alien dream may have been planted a long time ago, or it may have been recently given to you as an assignment at work. Whatever the circumstances, if you are not aware and in pursuit of your own special dream, then you may not really be you.

For another thing, you can reject your own gifts. Each of us has a variety of aptitudes, interests, intelligences, talents, and abilities. I like to think of those as having been given to us by God. Too many people fail to acknowledge, develop, and use their gifts • their true genius • on a regular basis. They do other things and then wonder why they don't feel quite right. I would argue they're not really being themselves.

Finally, you can stifle your creativity. I like the view of the human mind that sees it more as a receiver than as a repository of knowledge. The eternal spirit speaks to and through each of us; we need but the wisdom and the courage to tune in and listen. When we do, amazing things happen. We become incredibly clear about who we are and how we want to be. We become remarkably fulfilled and successful. I become the "me" I was always meant to be.

Ask yourself the question, "Am I Me?" If you're living your dreams, using your gifts, and expressing your creativity then you can answer that question in the affirmative. If not, then go back to the first nine "H" questions with their power to heal. Together they will get you moving in the right direction.