Who Am I (Part 1)

After somewhat of a long hiatus, I have decided it’s about time I got back to blogging again. And the whole world erupts into joyous applause! Just kidding, would be nice though…

In my life so far, I have on numerous occasions encountered the question “Who are you?” Now you may be thinking to yourself, “well, that’s easy, I know who I am.” And indeed that’s true for some people, and yet unfortunately, for a large majority, that’s a really tough question. You see, it stems out of the fact that, honestly speaking, some people have no clue who they are. That, if you ask me, is a very sad situation in this day and era. And because people do not know who they are, they don’t know what their purpose is. Ever encountered certain people in your life and you go “I don’t know what he/she is doing with her life” or “balya, balya ni chimbwi no plan” (a hyena with no plan—Bemba saying). You’re probably smiling to yourself just now because you know exactly who I’m talking about. Yeah, sad to say, they probably do not know who they are, and it can be inferred, they don’t know what their purpose is.

I had a good laugh when I watched the Jackie Chan movie “Who Am I” about a Secret Service agent who loses his memory after a helicopter crash. For the good part of the movie, the main character, played by Chan seeks clues that will aid him in figuring out who he is. I think it sets a good precedence for how most, if not all of us, must earnestly search for and try and find out who we really are, because I can assure you that life is better lived when you know yourself. Otherwise, (excuse my poor Bemba) bambi mwakulaba ba “Ukwalola umwela”, (where the wind blows, that’s the way you turn. Because you don’t know who you are, if someone comes and says, “Let’s go drink” (and I don’t mean drinking water), you’re there. “Let’s do drugs”, you’re there. Someone tells you “You’re an idiot, you’re stupid, you’re useless” and you’ll be there smiling like someone has given you the greatest compliment when in actuality; they’ve given you the greatest insult. Know who YOU are! Because I can guarantee you that that question will always be there. When you go for a job interview and the interviewer asks, “please tell us a bit about yourself,” guess what they’re asking? Tell us who you are! Some people have missed out on job opportunities because they don’t have a clue how to answer that question, because they do not know WHO THEY ARE! Know WHO YOU ARE!

Sometimes in life too, I think we could all use a friend like “Rafiki” from “The Lion King”. Sometimes we forget who we are due to various happenings and circumstances in our lives. We take on a different identity and are not true to ourselves, true to who we are. Sometimes we need the kind of people that aren’t scared to bump us on the head and remind us who we are. I can hear Rafiki going “Oh yes, the truth can hurt…” Surround yourself with people who know who you are, and aren’t afraid to remind you every once in a while who you are.

And from knowing who you are, you can go on to discover what your purpose is in life, but that’s a topic for another time.

All the best of luck finding out who you are…