Two words: I am.
Do you get the significance?
At first glance, probably not. You may question, well, I am what? But then you miss the point. You are not anything. You just are. Nothing else. You are just you. Existing. All of those other things? Those adjectives and adverbs and prepositions and etc that come after the verb, they are nothing. Merely add-ons. Words that bear meaning, yes, and are therefore significant in our lives. They are not, however, what is important.
Think back to early school days, when we are first instructed on how to form proper sentences. To do that, we do not need much. There are two requirements:
subject + predicate
More specifically, the predicate is often simply a verb. A subject plus a verb. That is all you need to make sense. All you need to make meaning. To be grammatically correct and understood completely by your peers, those two things are your key to success. Subject-verb is the central message, the core idea of the sentence. Everything else is just descriptions: colors, places, feelings. Again, they are add-ons. Not entirely necessary.
In that case, let us return to our original thought: I am.
To some it may be a rather disconcerting realization that this sentence is complete. Together these words match the standard for what a true sentence is. You can find the subject as being "I" and the necessary verb or predicate is "am". There can be found a world of meaning in two simple words. I am. You might not see it yet but those words are immensely powerful. Even so, many will find that statement to be lacking and attempt to fill it's "empty" space. As mentioned previously, some may wonder, I am what? There must be more! So the void will be filled with descriptions, such as:
I am happy. I am hungry. I am tired. I am fat. I am smart. I am sad. I am etc etc etc.
Do you see the reoccurring theme throughout all of this? I am, I am, I am. You can feel as if you are a whole medley of other words but at the root of it all, you just are. The rest is how you see it. The rest is your thoughts of whatever situation you are currently experiencing, the objects you are perceiving. When we gaze upon an object or live through some scenario, we fail to realize that those things simply are as well. We fail to realize that we simply are. It is only when we allow ourselves to think and form judgments that these things become bad or stupid or amazing or painful. Only then do we begin to attach the add-ons to ourselves. We have the tendency to form opinions on any and every thing. Our minds start racing, our thoughts start going, and we start adding in the rest. The descriptions.
Are these descriptions real? Sure, you can be happy and hungry and sad. But these words do not define who you are. Imagine yourself as a plain rubber ball. When you find a new way to describe yourself, a color will be painted over your surface. For instance when you are happy, a cheerful yellow will color your surface. When you are sad, a melancholy blue will cover the yellow. When angry, paint red over the blue. Eventually, it should become apparent that you are never any single color for too long. You may be one color multiple times but almost never for a consecutive period of time. Perhaps one of the most vital lessons to be learned about life is that everything is fleeting. In this case, our emotions and descriptions are always in a state of flux. They are not permanent. We feel one thing one minute and that feeling is replaced some time later by yet another feeling, such as the ball with its multiple colors. What happens, then, when you peel back the layers and layers of paint?
Underneath we find the plain rubber ball that we began with.
Though the colors may have changed, the ball remained constant beneath everything. Though your emotions and feelings are forever changing, you are still forever you. We stand as a rock embedded in the sand of the ocean. Around us is the ebb and flow of the tides, hitting us on all sides, never giving us a moment of stillness. Yet we stand, strong and unmoving amidst the fluctuating waters of life. Our outer appearances may change but at our core, we are never changing, even as all around us there is nothing but change. We are simply here, in the midst of existence.
Thoughts and emotions are very powerful things. But they are not you. They are a description of you in one moment of time. For instance, if you are sad, do not let those feelings become you. Misery can consume your thoughts, swallow you whole. You can begin to feel trapped in a dark abyss, or you may find yourself drowning in negativity. But that is not you! Those feelings, they are in no way the true you! People often mistake emotions for a personal identifier, and that is a crucial flaw of our society. You feel sad, you are not sad. The difference may appear slight but I assure you, it is monumental. Sad is sad, you are not sad. Do you want to be identified as Sad? Unless by some strange fortune that is your true name, I would certainly hope not!
Even happiness, I'm afraid to say, is temporary. It can be gone in a matter of moments, replaced by some other emotion. True joy springs from acceptance of this knowledge, that all things are temporary. Even this moment we are in right now is temporary. If all things are fleeting, if all things will one day fade, why not enjoy life while you can? Those feelings you have of yourself and the situations you are living through, they are your mind playing tricks on you, distracting you from the truth of the matter. The fact is you just are. If you need some more words to fill the empty space, try these:
You are a being. You are existing. You have complicated things far more than they should have ever been. You just are. You are not those words you use to describe yourself. You are an eternal spirit going through the motions of life. You are here to experience all that life has to offer, both the good and the bad. You are experiencing the feelings of humanity but through it all, know this one thing:
You are.
Tell yourself that - I am. Absorb this thought. Relish in the sensation of existence. You are never any of those other things, those conditions and descriptions. You just are. Be content with this knowledge, embrace it, and the joy that is yours by nature will find its way to you. Root yourself in the simplicity of existence and you will find the strength to weather the storms of life.
