My mom’s last words to me before I’d leave the house for a teenage adventure were often “Remember who you are!”. My mom is wise – perhaps in ways she has never fully realized.
In my own life, I’ve found many stories I carry around about who I “ought to be”. The stories are seductive because they promise all kinds of rewards if I will just change something about who I am.
(I’m not talking here about bad habits, appearances, daily routines, etc. Those are meant to be changeable).
In one particular ancient book of spiritual traditions, the main character is a man who is a physical incarnation of God. He’s often quoted as saying, “I am, that I Am”. I think that the secret to life is encoded in those two words, “I AM”. This character wasn’t fretting over who he “should be”, who he “wants to be”, who “he used to be”, etc. His identity was firmly rooted in a knowledge of who he ACTUALLY IS, right now, in the present. Some may say that once we become “worthy”, we gain knowledge of “I am”.
I think it’s the other way.
“Worthiness” is a self fulfilling prophecy.
I AM worthy in the moment I give myself permission to be.
A fully developed sense of “I AM” = God consciousness.
When I get really clear about who I AM, when I drop the addiction to living in the past and future, when I feel deep gratitude for the little fragment of genius that is uniquely mine, that’s where the power and goodness show up. That’s when I become most useful in the world.
Same goes for you.
I hope that while you are going about your day, you’ll take some time to really feel the notion of “I remember WHO I AM. I AM deeply grateful for who I AM.” If you get there, take a moment and write in your journal about it. Take that thought and give it a physical body as ink on paper. It’s the first step.
Thanks mom!
much love –
Paul Duane
