I was introduced to a series of movies called “Kung Fu Panda” by someone I really care about. In this animation, the hero of the story is always searching to be something better or different and ultimately always questions himself with “Who Am I?”.
The Panda’s final answer is “I am all of these things!”. That is where we are going to end up, when this piece is done.
The movie or movies are not how I got on this subject. It happened as I was thinking about what happened last night at a Jewish Learning event. During said event, I mistakenly went to a room which I knew had this speaker: a Jewish man, raised Orthodox, ordained as an Orthodox Rabbi, is principle of a Jewish High school and as of a couple of years again at a similar event, had declared that he was Atheist. Last night he declared it again to the room filled with 35 people. His stated topic was Hybrid Judaism . . . ., He actually only wanted to talk about the book he had just published within the last two months.
The book was about two sides of a question. What do you become when you “bump into” something that is not you now? (That is the way I am abbreviating the IDEA presented.) When you identify as say, a Buddhist, instead of Jewish or you want to identify as African-American instead of Mexican, then you must give up some of yourself to become that new thing, . . . . Or not. The other side of this argument is that if you are from Ireland and come to America, you should live in an Irish group and stay there or you will become something else instead of Irish. Question about this is bothersome to me? If you came to America not to be an American, but to be, as presented, an Irishman only, why level where you want to be? If you did not want to be there, why would you want to make here, there?
I have seen places in America that have Dutch, Irish, Swedish, Philippino, Tongan, . . . . Neighborhoods, and some of those people are friends with, may marry and work with any or all of the these groups everyday. No harm to any other group or with in that group.
My point is that while I too have been to many countries, been in many communities, have held many types of jobs, and many, many different experiences. I do not give up what I am in the process. I grow in the process.
This is very important to think about and understand, because so many people are fixated on identifiers, a place to belong and people to be with, those with a certain amount of money, type of work, etc . . . . And so many other things designed to make people STUPID. That was not a mistake, we have become STUPID, because even the Panda came to a better answer.
The Panda, and his questions: Am I a son of a goose?, a son of a panda?, a kung fu warrior?, a master of kung fu?, a student?, a teacher?, a Dragon warrior?, . . . . Turns out I am all of these!
The Panda found peace with who he IS and not what others think or declare him to be(Labels). He truly is who he has made himself to be(with help from others), and everything experienced up to this moment in time.
We need to understand that what we are, we created by our responses to what we experience, along with the ALMIGHT GOD OF ISRAEL, who has sustained you. If you are not the best you can be, then you must change you. No one else can do it. Blaming anyone else will not help you in a good way, and may keep you from doing what you must to change to be better.
Maybe another way to show this is in the statement: “Where ever you go, . . . .there You are.”
So who are you? REALLY? Are you a good person or a bad person? Have you bothered to face yourself or did you even try?