Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? These three are the fundamental questions in the lifetime of every human being to exist on this home known as Earth. A somewhat lesser question is: did the human being manage to answer any of them? I realize that the purpose of my own existence is to attempt to determine these answers for myself, and to encourage others to do the same, in an effort to help create a more healthy community. Unless you determine for yourself, with your own ideas, and a personal perception on life, I cannot consider you having lived, for you have not fully explored your function and reason for existence in this great chaos of our universe. In effect, you might well have not lived at all.

The first of the Three: who am I? Those of good character and strong intelligence will find this question easiest to answer, for they are those who usually keep the higher presence of mind to determine yourself before venturing abroad; why seek out the answers to outside, stranger questions when you have not yet learned the ways of yourself? To readily discover the alien universe in your own tiny world, it would be necessary to know how YOU work things out. Once you realize this fact, the other journeys in life will not be nearly so strenuous, for you can more easily recognize the obstacles that you can or cannot overcome, and you can have the decisiveness to act upon these observations. The results will lead to a simpler life.

How are we to accomplish the first question? I find this easy to answer when you consider what you have done already. By this I mean to look at your accomplishments; what product of a creative or logical process you endeavored to fulfill do you take pride in? Which particular thought you may have come across while absently catering to moronic customers at your menial work site do you take pride in? Once you recognize these achievements, examine them: investigate how you came to the conclusion that led to the completion of the product, be it tangible or thought. Other methods to examining yourself and coming to a reasonable answer to who you really are:

1. Observe the way you interact with others; are you outgoing or antisocial? Do you often have something constructive to say, or are you simply conversational for the social aspect? What are the types of conversation that you prefer? In this way can you learn the strengths and weaknesses in each position, and address each accordingly.

2. Who do you find attractive? Are these people of high intelligence? What kind of character do they have? Are there material gains in your relations with them? Or, mostly related to the opposite sex, do you only find them beautiful? Again, these are important in discovering yourself in the way you can judge people; which of these are potential friends, and who should you ignore?

Once you determine the answers to these and other questions, you will be well on your way to finding your true identity, and it should greatly assist you in your life, and in finding the answers to the next two questions.

Personal note #1

I believe in finding the path that leads you to your own divinity in life, to find somewhere that is only your own, something that only you can excel at. This is transcendence; this is rising above the mediocre; this is the accomplishment of life. No one will remember another robot, but they will always remember the Aristotles, the Caesars and the Beethovens in life. Become one of these and you will have succeeded where billions of faceless faces have failed.

The second of the Three: who are you? In every lifetime, there is at least one significant other that will be held in great esteem. While it may not be love in its purest form, as true love is exceedingly rare in these dark days, it will be a sort of attachment where you find yourself caring what the other thinks of you, and how odd and different they make you feel, when compared to, perhaps, your usual indifference. This leads us to begin our search for the answer to the second of the Questions, who are you? This is imperative to understand in any kind of mutual relationship, for the knowing of yourself is only half the battle in these cases: understanding the other is equal in importance to yourself in this regard, for you are now two joined in one, if the relationship is true. The feelings are shared; the goal is shared; the will is shared, but only if there is equal understanding in and of both halves.

How are we to accomplish the second question? At first, it is the same way as the first: we observe and reflect on ourselves. And, as Socrates realized, we ask ourselves more questions. How does the other half make you feel, and in what ways? Are you more sensitive to his/her touch in certain regards, perhaps in rather odd regards? Are you extra perceptive of some things, and not of others in the relationship? As usual, you must address each of these questions and the answers to them, meticulously examining the various connotations and ramifications that might go along with them. Once you understand how you react to the other half, you can attempt to understand how he/she reacts to you. In this way, if you are already well-experienced with the first question, it may be more difficult, as you are carefully treading into unknown territory that might be completely adverse to your safe, comforting home of self. But it is necessary to understand, so you must ask the same questions you asked of your own reactions, except that you now question the other half's reactions. An especially important element you must acknowledge is the way that he/she caters to your actions. That is to say, how does the other half recognize your authority? Does he/she mold to your will, or become resolute and stone-like? And you must take into account the specifics of the occasion, and how they affect both the occasion and the mutual understanding as a whole. I am relying a lot on your independence to address these needs accordingly, but if you have managed the first question easily enough, this should not be difficult.

But what's the point? This is essential for successful, long-lasting relationships. Sure, you can become a complete recluse, not daring to make an attempt at love, but this is another detriment that you do not need in your life. And what is now a detriment could have been your greatest joy. Therefore, in order to attain the magnificence of a truly loving relationship, you must thoroughly and lovingly understand the other, perhaps better, half.

Personal note #2

I am a firm believer in romantic love. But I am also aware of the rarity of such a thing in a world of text messaging, soulless television and demented social reasons for attachments. These destroy the human nature to love, and the insatiable desire to be loved, and I am surprised and greatly pleased when I observe those in love pure and true, for they prove the fact that love is, indeed, immortal, if you'll forgive the constant platitudes. Love is one of the most, if not the most, fulfilling experiences this life affords us, and I strongly suggest making a good effort towards it.

The final of the Three: who are we? The paramount importance of the collective is so often forgotten in the selfishness of individualism and self-gratification. The universal success of hedonism is modernism's single greatest failure, for all evils directly or not, stem from the attention to the importance of the single, in the stead of the whole. The mindless quest for empty pleasure to sustain worldly thirst leads to a degenerate and soulless community. This is why I am most adamant about the avoidance of the petty concerns for the small, insignificant, and to pay strongest attention to where the most will get affected. The easiest example of this is the rampant consumerism of today, where we burn much and buy the rest; never content with what we have, and never considerate of our posterity. Thus is it necessary to devote more thought to the importance of "we".

Once again, we must ask questions in order to find the answers, in order to find the out the importance of "we". What most easily pleases us? The immediate; the lottery; the drugs and meaningless sex. What gives us the greatest reward? The family and friends; the love; the wonders of true art and the natural art. These joys are not going to fade with the changing years; nay, they are eternal. When given the freedom of choice, stupid society choose that which gives the most for the least amount of effort. It does not take much to live a lifestyle of materialism; the chances dictate that you are probably already living one. But the greatest rewards go to those who put effort into their family, friends and into love. The greatest rewards go to those who maintain the presence of mind to recognize true beauty for what it is, in either art, or in the natural world.

It is important to know what the majority consume most readily, for they are moronic and have no substantial understanding of their lives in the grand scheme of things. In their petty micro worlds, they fail to think holistically. Humanity as a whole is a great and wonderful thing; but it is the individuals that make it up that cause me to really wonder. But what is most important to your life is how you fit into this complex and beautiful organism. Discover how you relate with the general consensus of different peoples, a consensus with humanity as a whole, if there is such a thing possible. But, most of all, discover how you will be thought of when your life passes and you are but one more deceased in a history of millions upon millions of deteriorated bodies. Will anyone remember you for who you were? Will you have made a mark on this prosperous world, rich in curiosity yet deficient in memory? To do so, you must have an understanding of history and of the whole; once you have attained such a grasp on reality, you can use the answers to the first two questions to make a perpetual landmark on this burdened homeland, solidly lending your name to history.

Personal note #3

The gods and goddesses of the world, if there are such entities, must not look friendlily on the whole, but on those exceptional individuals who truly care about the collective, and have the courage to think holistically and in parallel, recognizing the continuity of life. If it were not for these few, I should not think that humanity would exist at all; the will majority may have swept us all inexorably toward ultimate desolation and eternal ruin, living in the decrepit remains of our decadent fathers. And so we should be glad for those who excelled, those few in history we remember as great men; men who stood out against the stupid, colourless mass of humans who mean nothing and never meant anything. These should be our human idols; true men who can guide us from beyond the grave, benevolent in their eternal gifts to the collective human race. Go, now; reach for a magnificent and timeless piece of literature and read until you cannot remember how the last Die Hard ended.

February 8, 2008