Hey, Me! Have we met?

Far more often than I should, I look in the mirror and ask myself "Who are you?" It seems like a simple enough question: I have a name, a body, an identity, etc. However, is that what makes me me? It seems to me that the obvious answer is no.

Tyler Durden in Fight Club says, "You're not your job. You're not how much money you have in the bank. You're not the car you drive. You are not the contents of your wallet..." How can this be true, since people have been and are so obsessed with reputation and status? What value does materialism present in our society? To me, in a utopian society, a persons possession of an object means less than their use of it, i.e. I may own the fastest computer out there, but next to me is a man who owns an average one, but can write code faster than anyone: Which of us has higher 'status'? A Man is not to be judged by his objects, but instead by his achievements.

To get back on track, we can see in all obviousness that a man's worldly possessions mean little in the long run. Thus if a man is not product of his things, who is he? Throughout history, are people remembered for their fanciest fur coat and nicest suit, or their prowess in battle and the development of new ideas? Although there are exceptions, to me the truth remains that a sound mind is what establishes ones self in society.

I must ask however, how much of you do you perceive in me, and what does that by necessity make me, if anything? Much of our world is based on perception and the way you see things, but how does how you see me change me? Does your lack of faith in me alter how I see myself?

There are hundreds of questions about self-identity that I could ask: In what ways does an association with someone change me? Is it my thoughts, my feelings or my actions that makes up most of who I am? To what extent can I change who I am? and many others. But as days turn into nights and time passes, we are never constant. Because of this, I must ask myself "Who are you?"