Where You Are Is Not Who You Are

Saturday Stories

August 12, 2017

The subjects of food, diet and weight came up while talking with a friend earlier this week. I told her there's no need to feel self-conscious since nobody notices anybody anyway – because everybody is looking at their cellphones.

I gave her an analogy as a way of sharing my own perspective. This is what I said:

Let's say, coming from here, you are going to up north to Bantayan Island. Naturally, you would eventually find yourself in one of the towns along the way, say, Danao.

Do you say "Oh, I'm here: this is my life! There's a cow crossing the road and blocking the bus because God is punishing me. I'm beside a stranger because this is my karma. I'm in this place because this is who I am!"

No, you don't say that. Why? Because you know you are just traveling. Where you are at any given time is just a place you're passing through.

Yet that is precisely what most people do. They take a snapshot of a moment and they think that is their whole life.

Take your body. You have a different body when you were born, when you graduated from grade school, from high school and from college. Your body is constantly changing.

In other words, your physical appearance continues to change, so why do you think it reflects your worth as a person?

Also, think of a time when you are really down, like when you were broke or when you broke up. Do you think that episode defines you who are as a person? Of course not.

Life is just a journey. It doesn't matter where you are, it doesn't matter what your current circumstances are, as long as you are going to where you want to be. If you just continue, you will get there.

And then, you will discover that there is a new chapter, and another, and another. Life is a series of exploration and new discoveries. It never ends. The fun never stops.  Might as well enjoy it.

Photo courtesy of PhotoCase.com