I Am... Who I Am

Take five minutes and make a list of descriptors of who you are.  Maybe use the words "I am..." or "I am a..." to complete the sentence with:

• Relationships (e.g., I am a... daughter; son; sister; brother; wife; husband; partner)
• Roles and Responsibilities (e.g., mother; father; supervisor; employee; educator)
• Titles (e.g., doctor; Mr.; Mrs.; Ms.; president)
• Character Traits (e.g., I am... calm; compassionate; extroverted; introverted; friendly)
• Skills (e.g., excellent communicator; good listener; organized; electrician; creative)

Now, sit with these words.  What do you think or feel when you look at certain words?

This is who you are... today... in this moment.  And yet, I would bet, you are so much more!

I Am... Who I Am:
formed by a relationship

We are formed by relationships, family and culture, education, hobbies and interests, travel, exposure to other ways of being.  How often, though, do we reflect on the ways we have grown, changed and adapted?  Our individual (and collective) I AM is in constant motion as we understand and filter new experiences.  We catalogue meaning and value as we encounter long-time relationships.  We make assumptions and come to conclusions when we begin new friendships.

I Am... Who I Am:
formed by education

It seems that we adjust throughout the day as we move from home to work to social gatherings: each I Am... moment expresses different facets of who we are... but, again, we are always so much more.  I find this fascinating!

We each possess the ability to create and recreate who we are... until...

I Am... Who I Am:
formed by hobbies and interests

We choose not to!  I wonder what happens when we decide that:

• We no longer want to continue nurturing a friendship?
• We can no longer respond to dark moments in society?
• We don't like who we have become?

I Am... Who I Am:
formed by travel and exposure to different cultures

In these moments, I must remind myself that I am is the present verb tense of to be.  Dialogue allows us the space to talk, listen, and understand who we will become.  We can look at the relationships, roles, responsibilities, titles, character traits, and skills that describe who we are... and we can dream of the "so much more"!  The choice is ours!

May we see the blessings and goodness in the I AM of this moment.  May we, in dialogue, share moments of becoming.  And, may we long for more!

Larry Gardepie

Dialogue San Diego Consulting

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