html-dk-1:/usr/home/ricardo > who am i

ricardo               ttype8  Jun 20 15:43  (ricardo.psd.demo)

html-dk-1:/usr/home/ricardo > why am i

bash: why: command not found

Damn. Just checking. Unix command that tells you who you are or, more accurately and less philosophically, who you are currently logged on as.

Who am I? This is a question that has been asked by deep and non-deep thinkers alike. It is a question that we all seek to answer in one form or another. It is a question that influences our behaviors and thoughts because we seek to manipulate the answer. And because we are trying to answer the question based on behavior influenced by desired outcomes, we cannot accurately realize our true nature or the full implications of it. In all reality, though, one cannot be objective and abtain an all-inclusive, correct answer. That would suggest that Joe Smith off the street would have a better chance and figuring out who you are than you would. (For some people this may apply, however...) In contrast, introspection gives us at least a glance at our true selves. Anymore, people are so caught up in external focal points that, when faced with anything internally traumatic, they find themselves emotionally handicapped. I used to think that I knew who I was, both on an individual level as well as a social one. I've now realized that this is simply not the case. What I am left with is the knowledge that I, like many other people, have my own little corner of insanity. Sometimes the corner is bigger than at other times, but is always there. I think we all have our own corners of insanity that serve as home or a refuge. They are our abstract link to reality that keep us grounded to ourselves, even if we aren't grounded to anything else. We may not fully understand them, but they define us and provide a rough sketch of who we really are.