how we change

From one perspective, it’s not who we are, but how we change. Who we are at any given time is a factor of how we’ve changed since our birth. If we look back at ourselves from years ago, its likely clear we’ve changed significantly. The world is always changing, and so are we. So, if this change is inevitable, why are we sometimes afraid of it? Why might we grasp onto some predetermined concept of who we are, or were?

Throughout life, we can act based on the predetermined self, or we can act more based on how we feel in that moment, perhaps trying new things and having new experiences or perspectives. If we haven’t defined ourselves, we don’t owe the world a fulfillment of that definition. Defining, or even describing ourselves, builds the matrix of our identity.

Gnosticism teaches on the untapped potential of our Being. Why should we lock ourselves into, or even try or pretend to be the same person we’ve been thus far? Although changing too quickly might be reckless, changing slowly and consciously should be akin to following our path. As change is inevitable, trying to maintain our old self only masks the change happening within. Seeing this reality may help us to cope better with life’s constant change; and working with the change, we can do great things. It’s like surfing a wave. You provide some effort to catch it and ride it, but the wave does things along the way that you could never expect. How you handle the wonks and sections determines the nature of your ride.

In this deposition (at 3:56), Lil Wayne shows how intangible it is who we are, and showcases the indescribability of how we think, feel, and act.

“They paint me as a villain I just autograph the artwork” – Lil Wayne

Another aspect, is that we are finding ourselves, not just changing ourselves. If we are in search of truth (which I think to some degree we all are) the more truth we gain, the closer we get to our true selves. All the things that happen to us in life teach us something about ourselves. As long as our eyes are open to the experiences, we will learn something. The ourselves that we’re uncovering, is the Being as described in Gnosticism. And what we’re losing as we change, when correctly following our path, are the many egos at the root of our faults.

So, this is another reason to not be afraid of change. The idea that what makes us ourselves, our most beautiful parts, can only grow when we release more of our Being from its captivity under the egos. We won’t lose that by changing, as it is part of our soul. We can, however, look back at the egos we’ve released, and know that we’re free of them. We understand them. But we can’t be free of the spark that makes us ourselves, nor would we want to. As egos pass, the Being grows. Fear not the change, but instead, love the experience.

Edited 12/29