Realms of Identity

Look at yourself in the mirror. What do you see? Is the image of the person reflected back to you an image? Or is the real you reflected back?

Each and every time we look in a mirror we have to ask if what we see is the outer person or the inner person. We must inquire if the surface is the same as the interior.

If you have ever gone into a cave, you have seen that the world below the surface of the earth is different from what is on the surface. Just as the surface of a lake or ocean is much different from what is below.

I come from a land of mines and caves. The question as a child wasn’t whether what was below the surface was different from the surface of the land. It was whether we would walk into a sinkhole and twist an ankle or break a leg. Whether we would go too far into a cave or mine and get lost.

As a little boy I learned to pay attention to the shifting surface of my world. Of where the earth rose and fell as it ought. I found out at an early age that what appears to be solid one moment may give way beneath my feet in the next moment. The surface of my world could change at any moment.

As a child I learned to keep moving.

Step lightly.

Pay attention to the surface so that I didn’t fall into a cave or mine shaft below.

As an adult I am told that my behavior is rude. I am charged with staring at people. When I look at a person in my world, I frequently find myself captivated by what I see in and around the person. Looking at someone’s guardian angel, seeing the soul beneath their exterior — how can one not be captivated? How does one ignore what comes from another person’s soul?

Where once it bothered me to be accosted, I no longer take it seriously when someone takes umbrage. My life continues.

It disturbs me when people pretend to be who they are not. People who are quite clearly selfish and ill-mannered will pretend that they behave in others’ best interests. Their exterior virtuosity belies inner corruption.

Others hide their goodness. They don’t want to be found out for having helped others. It is their belief that good deeds are best done out of the spotlight. Theirs is an honest modesty.

Those extraordinary women and men look into a mirror and see nothing special. They see a flawed individual. A human being who has so much more to accomplish in life than one person can possibly manage.

In searching for their true selves, they perform small acts of kindness. They say a good word. Smile at someone who is caught off guard by being the subject of their good deed. They unwittingly and unknowingly make our world a better place.

They are the persons we speak about when we say how someone lights up a room. How they always seem to have a positive outlook. Something good to say. A happy smile.

They personify sympathy in the symphony that is life.

This week an old friend reminded me of something incredible that happened to him many years ago. What happened to him years ago continues to make humanity a better place for us all. He did something rare and wonderful back then. He shared the wealth of his newfound spiritual treasure with the world.

I was directly impacted by his compassion. I was one of the first recipients of his charity when he reached out and shared his new spiritual wealth.

I’m not sure it would have meant as much to me had he given me mere physical goods. He gave me something much greater. Once he started to share his inner wealth with the world, we who received that wealth were able to pass it on to yet more persons.

That is how real wealth works.

My friend saw who he really was. His inner identity made itself clear to him. And so he shared his newfound wealth.

That is what happens when we explore our desire to find out who we really are. The truth of our identity. We get to share it.

In the process others become richer.