Who Are You | Tracks In The Dust

Archive for the tag “Who Are You”

16 Oct 2013

Too Much Information

Too much information!

Back in my childhood I remember the evening newspaper landing on the front porch every night. My dad would come home from work, kick off his shoes, sometimes make up a cocktail and read the paper. When I got interested in what they used to call “current events” I was watching TV.

Even in my youngest days the biggest news would show up on the airwaves and most of the public would watch it. After all, we had 3 national networks to choose from. You had a choice who you liked, who you trusted. Assassinations, moon landings. war’s on TV, protesters, politicians, national news and local news all came through the TV screen on one of the few channels the airwaves could send our way.

Things have changed. We get our information in such a different way. My grown children don’t even own a connection to a TV source. No antenna, no cable. They get their news from the Internet. Though the smartphones and the computers they have in their hands. Portable. Anywhere. That is the great part of the “information age” .

But now those 3 channels have turned into a multitude of options. The newspapers are shuttering their doors, the TV channels that had been so robust in reporting the news are now full of talking-heads who are spouting their opinions on any topic that will sell more commercials and make people who think the same way happier.

So here we are on the Internet. There is an endless source of information on the world-wide web. But that has made the news have a thousand alternate versions. A view-point becomes a fact, a fact becomes distorted, a picture tells a thousand words but the words don’t match the picture. The photos are photo-shopped, and the captions frequently don’t match the event. The world is instantaneous. News from the other side of the world can show up on your iPad less than 30 seconds after the event. Two minutes later you can read the view points of every one who wants to declare their position.

So its TMI. Too Much information. There doesn’t seem to be a “filter” at all. It is going to keep coming and we all have to make the best of it.

That is what can make blog-posts on WordPress exciting. Connected people can make a difference. It is what we can all do since we are inter-connected human beings from all over the world. We can verify that the entire world isn’t going down in flames. There are a lot of things we all have in common. It is the goodness of the information age. It is our chance to remove the filter and understand each other. I am thankful for that. Hope you are too.

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Definitions, Information Age, moments, Newspaper, Opinions, Television, Too Much Information, tracks in the dust, We Are Connected, Who Are You

03 Oct 2013

“Who Are You?”

Not to get all Freudian or something, but i constantly continue to meet people who are struggling to understand themselves better. So I am bringing it up again.

It seems that people may not be able to personally define who they are perhaps. They have a lot of friends, family and lovers (past and present), around them who are more than willing to tell them how they define them.

But the reality is: if you could not ask the people around you…how would you define yourself?

Easy to put on different costumes and personalities to show to others, through different phases of a relationship with someone, different pieces of the “real you” may not be immediately exposed.

Asking the question “Who do you believe you are?” without parroting back what others say you are is hard to do and seems to require inner inspection. Are you the same person inside as you appear to others? So easy at first to say “yes”- but the last person you should lie to is yourself and it is easy to do ( at least I can say that personally in a truthful way).

So go ahead…ask yourself who you are. Be honest. Are you a singer, a lover of horses, a follower of sports? Labels.

Are you someone who thrives on interaction, or just likes interaction to validate who you are… letting that define the real you.

Deeper, who are you spiritually? Sure there are labels: a scientist, a teacher, a lover, a friend. That’s easy to do… just add it to your Facebook profile already… but who are you when the world and others don’t label you.

Worse yet, once you think you know who you are– try comparing that to how others see you.

Some of my closest friends have lost marriages, significant family relationships and friendships because they realized that they were trying to become someone they weren’t ever going to be, or worse yet were trying desperately to fit into something someone else wanted them to be. We always evolve from the foundation of who we are- but before you can really grow- you need to know what that foundation consists of.

I sound like a bunch of songs from the Who (queue “Who Are You” or “The Real Me“) or like the dozens of philosophers from my college classes. Seems like we are always in need of introspection.

My advice to my kids:

In this busy world – with constant input coming from so many different places- with almost instant feedback [more than any other time before in history], we need to be sure our first definition of ourselves is ours.

Your Circumstances Don’t Define You, Your Response Does (betterlifecoachingblog.com)

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, Being Labelled, choices, Defining Yourself, Doubt, Ego, Faith, Love, relationship, Self-Awareness, Who Are You

01 Oct 2013

Meaning

Meaning. A big word that means a lot. People are looking for meaning in life, and wanting meaning in what they do. I know it is important to me, and it seem to be that every one is seeking it.

Maybe it is a meaning for the job? After getting paid, it would be nice to know that you are a contributor, that you make a difference in the job, that you get recognized for the work you have done.

Maybe it is understanding “why” – defining the meaning to injustice in our lives and the world around us, the unfair things that happen to others, to you. Understanding why people are violently hurting each other, hating each other, making life miserable for others.

It could be the ultimate “meaning of life“- looking for the spiritual center. Are we really only on earth for such a short time only to have it all end? Is there something more? What are we supposed to do while we are here on earth? (that is a topic for another day, but it is clear then that eternity matters most).

People want meaning in their lives too. So many want to mean something to someone. To the ones they love, to their family and friends. They want to be significant in their lives.

There is the gallant goal of doing something meaningful (good or bad) in life. Showing mankind that you have something more to give can make for a lifelong task. Sometimes achieved, sometimes never reached. Not all the heavy stuff of Kant’s enlightenment or something. Just searching.

So in the end- what is that driving meaning in your life? Can you reach for it? Is it elusive or in-reach? Are you always looking elsewhere and not right in front of you? It can be so simple I think, yet so difficult to find. It can be a daily driving force. A preoccupation that can consume us. It can find us somewhere in a “hollow” place, It can be infinitely rewarding.

Here’s my take on it: Look for it in the closest places. In your heart not your mind, in the eyes of others, in the places that provide peace in your life. Look for it in God, look for it in the air you breathe. Breathe in. The meaning is there.

The meaning of life per perspective. (williamkiddjr.wordpress.com)
Youth ,hopes and dreams- meaning to life (rajatkumar1069.wordpress.com)

Posted in Learning Lessons Along the Journey Of Life and tagged Acceptance, choices, Fear, God, Grace, Happiness, Joy, Meaning of life, moments, Philosophy, Reality Check, Religion and Spirituality, Searching for Significance, Who Are You

25 Sep 2013

This Never Happened Before

My wife and I find that things are quite different these days.

Maybe you could call it “empty nest syndrome” or something like that, but actually it is just more about becoming older. Not the kind of “older” that means turning into a senior citizen. But the older that is more about knowing who we are, what we want and what is important to us.

We have been living most our lives together headed toward the future. Getting married, finishing school, moving around the country to find the next part of a career to support our family, and owning a home. Kids, yes we wanted kids. When we were younger we would think that maybe six kids would be great – yup a big family. As we decided to have children we determined six was not in the plan after the 2nd one we knew . In the end, four was enough.

But we spent much of their lives ( our lives) as the grew up being sure they were healthy, happy ( too much about that sometimes). that they had a good moral compass, good work ethic, made good decisions ( believe me they did not always make good decisions… sometimes really really poor ones). There to support them. It was our imperative. We love them. We wanted only the best for them and wanted to surround them with the things that matter (love would have been enough).

But now they are old enough ( all over 20 actually) and can make their own way through things each day. Just like my wife and I did when we were young. Oh we will be there for them whenever they need us, advice. sympathy, finances (sometimes), we enjoy and have excitement for their progress in the world.

But this never happened before: We have to make our way with our love to a new place, One that will be centered more around US and less around growing up with the kids in mind. We are what is needed for the future. We need to make that a priority.

Life is short, and it is definitely shorter on the downhill ride. Love my wife very much. This is the way it should be for lovers.

Posted in Doing Things That Will Change Your Life, Life's Sound Track (Music) and tagged Beatles, Compassion, Empty nest syndrome, Family, Grace, Growing Older, Kids, life is precious, Music, Parent, Paul McCartney, Postive Thinking, Who Are You

24 Sep 2013

Triggering Memories

Memories are a good thing. You don’t want to dwell on them every minute of every day, but they signify who you are.

There was a time the other day when I was listening to some music on “shuffle” on my audio system while doing some work around the house. I love the shuffle idea actually, since I have so many songs on my hard drive. I just hit the play button and it shuffles around the 23,000 songs I have.

Some times it means I am having to fish for my remote and move it ahead when something just doesn’t mix right with my mood, but more often I am surprised at what it picks and even what I own.

But there were a couple of songs in a row that truly triggered memories I had long since tucked away. Not like I was trying to suppress them ( and I am sure some psychologist would say I was), but they were just far enough in the past that they hadn’t passed my mind. Those memories were rich with things that made my adolescence a composite memory of joy and wonder

Like I said, I don’t make a chore of sitting in front of old pictures ( not that I have very many from my teen years, since we didn’t have a phone/camera in our pocket those days). I don’t have much time these days to reflect on the past very often, and have come to cherish the present and what it can bring.

But there are those times, when a smell, or something someone says, or a TV program or movie, or some picture can jog memories that have long since been filed. Some are melancholy and some are even more painfully sad, and others are rich with thoughts of time long since passed. It’s good to know they are still “in there” somewhere- in my head.

Do you have that happen to you? Maybe I am an exception, but I think I am not alone.