I AM THAT I AM

Who are you? A question that we’ve all answered often throughout our lives.

From introducing oneself as a child. “What’s your name, what grade are you in, what are your interests?”

To college applications: “In 500 words, share who you are and why we should admit you.”

To job applications, resumes, and interviews: “Write out everything you’ve ever done and prove to us that you’re qualified for this job.”

To dating and relationships: A tough one that can complicate our understanding of our identity as we are tempted to morph into who we think the other wants us to be.

I have always held pride in my list of identities:
Wife, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Friend.
Spiritual, Brave, Hardworking, Loving.
Good with people and animals (not good with plants).
Creative, Organized, Strategic.

But who AM I?

As I began my most recent deep dive back into therapy, my therapist challenged me to answer this question withOUT putting external descriptors on it. So, who am I? Just as I am, not in relation to anyone else.

This obviously got me thinking! Wow! How powerful to see that my identity so often relies on my relation to another. OR it relies on my “worth” – again most likely a judgement in relation to another person.

But who am I without all that?

I AM THAT I AM!

This phase is a loose translation of something found in the Torah. When Moses experiences G-d at the burning bush, he asks what he should say to the Israelites when they ask him who/what “god(s)” have sent him. This phrase is often used in my yoga and spiritual practice as well.

To me, it means I AM enough. My existence is worthy just because I exist. To BE. To have worth, value, power, IDENTITY, is inherent in the fact that I exist.

So, to answer my therapist’s question: My identity is that I am a spiritual being having a human experience.

That is enough. I am enough.

I AM THAT I AM.

*** photo from our trip to Hawaii in 2019 ***