“No one is stronger than the person who knows who and what he is.”
Rabbi Sacks
There are two indicators of one becoming old. First, it was when I could no longer see the digits on my watch clearly without extending my arm completely. The other was when I started to repeatedly re-ponder pointless existential questions. “What am I” is my new nemesis.
Let’s back up a bit.
When we ask kids “what do you want to do when you grow up?” They tend to answer:
“I want to be a fire fighter!”
“A basketball player!”
“A voice actress for Japanese anime!”
When we ask a middle-age man “what do you do?” He answers,
“I work for Apple.”
“I am a sales.”
“I am a plant-based yoga practicing Dad and husband, a he/his/him.”
We ask for verbs, and we get nouns.
But then, it’s verbs that make our heart sing. Consider this.
“At Netflix, we want to entertain the world.”
And this. “Connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”
Lastly. “Refresh the world. Make a difference.”
Therefore I believe the question “what am I” is useful because it drags us into a really muddy rabbit hole, where we will eventually run out of nouns, and then, we will discover our verbs.
What are you?