Who Are You?

It is not easily answered.  

There are indications of who I am, they are the activities and thoughts that I have; the things I dream to have or to be; the things that I’ve done or accomplished, and there is a difference.  

I am also he who exists in the minds of others whenever someone else thinks about me.  I am also he who is at the beck and call of others who influence me, be they living or spiritual beings.

If our house and all that is in it was to be destroyed, where would that put me, what would I do?

If my wife and family were to be eliminated, where would that put me?

If my assets were to be made worthless, where would that leave me?

If my memory was to fail, where would that leave me?

If I was to be abducted and taken away to live in a foreign place that had a different language and where I was precluded from using the internet and other means of communication with my former world, how would I cope with that?

If any one of the above were to happen, I could probably get by but would it be the end of me if all of them happened?

Now I wonder if answering any and all of the above would give me some clue as to who I am.

Here it is, a few minutes later and I have the answer to any and all of these questions.  My life would go on, however altered, until my death.  

It still does not answer the question of Who Are You?

That is more than I can answer at the moment.

(Later)  For the time between a personal disaster in my early youth until a few weeks ago, I have struggled with the task of proving myself worthy of the respect of others.  It led me down some interesting paths in life and got me to where I am today.  

Then I realized that the respect for which I was looking was self-respect.  It came to me, as does the twilight of dawn, that no one really cared one way or the other about me.  The people from whom I was trying to get respect were too busy with their own life to give a care much about me.  And that has not changed an iota.

What has changed, evolved here over a short period of time, is me and my perception of me.  My purpose in life, at this time and place in it, is simply to take care of my wife and me.  Care in the form of providing what is necessary for peace of mind, health of body, and interesting things to do.  

Now that I understand this, my demeanor has changed; the urgency I once felt for accomplishment, for being the Man of LaMancha, is gone.  I now enjoy peace of mind because my purpose in life is clear.  

The panoply of my activities makes more sense, the urgency of accomplishment is gone.  This means that I am not required to do  anything but that which I desire; and what is morally, ethically, and legally required.

So, to attempt an answer to the question, Who are you? 

I may answer, I am he who takes care of you and me.