Sometimes I find myself asking the question "How do you know when you have become who you are"? The spiritual journey of life is basically a journey of returning to your original essence in order to be who you really are. We are born pure and innocent. Along the road of life we acquire our personalities and other defense mechanisms that we use to shield and protect ourselves from life. One way or another most of us overcompensate in the ways we react and respond to life. Our experiences, good and bad, mold us into the people that other’s see. The second half of our life journey, if we are on the path to enlightenment, is spent attempting to take off our masks and to remove the armor that we have acquired in order to rediscover our purity and innocence. The Buddhists call this "discovering the face we had before we were born". When I look in the mirror, and during moments of introspection, I wonder how far along I am on this journey of uncovering who I really am. What is my true essence? What is my original nature? It is nearly impossible to know these things when you are young. In our youth it is far more important for us to fit in, to be like others, and find acceptance from others. We are also too busy building our lives to worry too much about who we are. These concerns and tasks are considerably less important when you get older. I am still struggling to get from behind the masks I wear and to break through the armor I have created. When I do I look forward to meeting the real me.
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