Where I've Been and Who I Am

I've found myself sitting in front of my computer the last couple of days, staring at the screen, trying to figure out how to get the stuff that's in my head out. Sometimes the words flow freely and other times, not so much. That's doesn't mean that I don't have things that I want to share, but sometimes I'm not sure how to share them.

Here's an attempt...

Ever heard the saying "Never forget where you came from and who you represent"? I'm not sure if that's exactly how it goes, but that's the idea. But here's the thing, everyone should come to a point in their life where they establish who they are as a person and where they are going with that. And sometimes the "where we came from" is not at all who we are today. Don't jump to conclusions yet. I'm not saying that where we came from doesn't play a fairly big role in who we are today. It most certainly does. But as we continue on this journey through life and go through different experiences than our family and friends that we were once around, our outlook on the world can, and often does, change. And we find ourselves looking at the world through different eyes than perhaps those that we grew up with. And I think that we generally look to surround ourselves with people that think like we do. People who see the world from a similar point of view. People who understand us. And it makes sense really. 

We are all at different stages of our life journey. Some people move more quickly than others. Some manage to make it through without much influence from the outside world while others are bogged down. Some have a cynical outlook due to experiences and circumstances and some still see the world through "rose colored glasses". And I don't know about you, but I find myself in a very different place than that of my family and people that I grew up around. And although I think this is pretty normal, it's not always easy. It can make it difficult to carry on conversations and share thoughts and feelings when your worldview is so different. I don't share the same views as my family on a lot of things - religion, politics and just how I view the world on a daily basis. Of course, there's also the fact that my worldview changes continually. What I believe today may change tomorrow. But I'm open to change. I like to hear others' thoughts and opinions and beliefs. It doesn't mean that I'll instantly join "your side" but who knows how it might influence me in the future. And I'm okay with you not being in agreement with me. In fact, you shouldn't be. Somewhere in the back of your mind, questions should be forming all the time about life and where you stand with things.

I guess what I'm saying is this, where we come from is important. It plays a big part in shaping us. But at some point we all need to become our own person. And this often starts with questions. Questions about what we've been taught and told to be true. And it's okay to ask questions. It's normal. So although we never truly forget where we come from, we may come to the point of realizing that it's in the past and it's not who we are today.