Food for thought — ‘Who am I?’

By a Harmless team member

Who am I? I am sure everyone asks themselves this question from time to time. It is extremely difficult to navigate our lives these days — there are so many expectations, hopes, fears or difficulties. No one is exempt from them. We try our best to overcome these struggles and to find our place in life, but that’s often easier said than done. We have so many things to do during a day, but each day only contains 24 hours. Our society keeps us busy chasing our dreams, we work and we take care of our families (which is a significant responsibility and a tremendous privilege), but it’s often impossible to find time for ourselves.

There are so many duties to perform on a day-to-day-basis that we almost forget to take care of ourselves. We live up to other people’s expectations, as we look to receive that validation from others, although this rarely occurs. Deep down, we secretly wish there was someone out there who could see it, and who could see through the emotional barriers, and who could save us. The fact that we become almost different people in different social situations makes it even more confusing. It is almost as though we must act in a particular manner in order to be appreciated and validated. While we would like to fit in somewhere, there are moments when it seems like we are too different. We represent many roles – we are someone else’s friend, someone else’s colleague or family member, although we struggle to identify ourselves without these labels.

Who am I when I am alone?

Who am I when I can be myself?

What do I like and what makes me truly happy?

Although living our life is not simple, the greatest thing we can do is trust and believe in ourselves. There will always be ups and downs, highlights and lowlights, yet it reminds us that whatever the roles we play we are just human beings after all. We all have the power to determine who we are and who we want to become in this world.