“I am a drug addict”
“I am a quiet person”
“I am a shy person”
“I am a difficult person”
And the list could go on here…….
People, mostly unwittingly, say these statements, or rather these pronouncements about who they are or what they about. And yes, they might be that at that moment. But what I would like to know…..
Is that the real you or simply what you have become due to whatever reason?
No person as far as I know wants to become a drug addict (I use this example because its very blatant and illustrates the point better). But for whatever reasons that person becomes a drug addict. Does that mean that’s who they are intrinsically?
No, right?
Rather intrinsically they are not a drug addict and the real person inside is just like any other human finding their way around life as best as they know right then and there.
I am living proof of this one, since I have taken copious amounts of drugs and alcohol, yet find myself today not under that anymore. Therefore I reason that, that activities could not define me unless I did allow it to.
I sound cryptic. Let me explain myself better. As in life, our experiences shape us (depending on how we view it) so do bad experiences. But what I am getting at here is that, there remains an intrinsic you, the real you…. The one that is really, really, really who you are. The soft, vulnerable, genuine person. This is true for every person. And sometimes that intrinsic you gets stuck through a endless loop of distortions and paths that really don’t help.
But deep down you know, you may not be this way….
So my question today is are you really who you are? I mean genuinely the real you, or do you still allow the pronouncements of a bad experience to shape you?
When we say, but I am just this way, are you really?
When you meet someone or get to know people, do you allow time to see the intrinsic person? Or do we quickly rush to one line judgement of who a person is?
theHonestOne
Lynley I concur with you on your views. I know of someone who in fact who has become comfortable with using their negative past to win over the sympathies of people. The tragedy is that by choice of not wanting to confront the negativity, the person has become ensnared and thus a living victim. The real intrinsic person of infinite value is trapped. The Self deception is that we tend to accept the abnormal view of of we who as the so called real you. May God have mercy and may His infinite lovingkindness bring us healing.
Yep and that we simply do not allow circumstance to shape us into a person we are not meant to be. That we refuse fear to rule and take charge of our environment we find ourselves in……
We so easily use the lie as an excuse to not confront the challenges that face us. It becomes easier to live and not face reality when we say :we are a …”
But we must also recognise how sin has corrupted us and even blinded us. And from a spiritual perspective, it may even be the enemies way of deceiving us by making us believe all these lies.
I agree, but sometimes I think people just reason that, that is who they are. I would like everyone at least to test themselves
I like this one, was challenged on the “intrinsic me” just this morning!
I love this post because so many people look at “what” another person is and forget to ask “why”. I think we are absolutely affected by past experiences, circumstances, etc., so the “why” is really a lot more important than the “what”.
Thats so true hey, the “why” is way more important than the “what”. And most people tend to get stuck on the what rather…..
I have a difficult time looking at “why” a given person appears to be the way they are, especially with new friends and acquaintances. How do you find out the why, without gossip, conjecture, or uncomfortably direct questions? When someone says or does something hurtful to me, I quell the hurt – and their accountability – by actively considering their unknown history. But in other situations, it’s just so much more efficient to slap on a label and move on. Clearly, I’ve got a lot of learning to do! Thanks for the food for though, as always!
I think its always easier to simply label someone and its not easy to get to know the real reason for people being the way they are. I also battle with that, but I think even people that hurt us intentionally really are not born that way. And certainly there are factors that help them “get there”.
We also need understanding and I guess if we need it, others need it too