Who Are We?

What makes you......YOU?  Perhaps it's the people around us or the experiences through time that make us who we are.  Some say it's genetics.  No matter what experiences we may have had, we're made in the image of a higher power destined to form some purpose in life.  It is what it is no matter what experiences we have.  So if that is true, why do we have those experiences in the first place? 

Some of us go through a lifetime searching for that purpose and never seem to pinpoint it.  Maybe we've missed signs along the way that gave us clues to some task we're meant to perform.  Perhaps a friend goes unfound, some drama doesn't unfold, some heart is left unloved, an experienced isn't learned from because we've chosen a certain path.  Hmmm?  It's quite interesting, isn't it?  I think about these things while others may not give it a second thought.  There are some who complain everyday and find no happiness whatsoever, missing all the beauty around them while others always complain about who did what to whom convinced that the world is some sort of shit hole.  Some claim they don't experience any pain or suffering and wonder why the ney sayers are saying anything at all.  They only see the good in everything.  That's okay, too, but don't we learn from our mistakes, from pain, from misfortune? 

Many successful people in this world, whether they're in the entertainment business or in the business sector, have experienced upset, pain and suffering, only to live through their past and thrive with what lies before them. I'd like to think I was in the latter.  I'd like to think that I've grasped the pain and joy, learned from it all and trying to accept what lies before me.  Whether I like what it is or not, it is what it is.  We mingle in and out of relationships, experiences and time.  The work lies in taking hold of what is given,  learn to work through it, accept it and learn from it all.   For some of us it takes time, reflection, prayer, forgiveness and reasoning.  For others it never takes hold, it's never thought about, and there is no resolve.  They just go about their life never knowing, never learning and never letting anyone in.  Perhaps it's too painful to deal with it all so they might get lost in their work, alcohol or drug abuse or some other way to mask their inner selves. 

What it all boils down to is this.  We're born for an ultimate purpose in life to learn, live and love.  Along the way there are bumps in the road such as new love, death, joy and suffering, but we have to work through the pain, accept it, FEEL it and decide who we are going to be.  Are you inner directed where you only think about YOU and what YOUR needs are?  Are you outer directed where you only think about other people?  Are you a mix of both, feeding your inner needs while still helping others?  I'd like to think I'm a mix of both at this time in my life, trying to figure it all out while finding balance, too.  If we all find balance within ourselves, then doesn't that lend itself to balance in the whole world?   Wouldn't that be nice?  If we all figure out who we are, why we're here, then we'll be in perfect balance.  Who are we?  We're people trying to figure it all out....at least some of us are.