Who can I still become?

Don Miguel Ruiz is the author of a book called the Four Agreements and introduces a concept called domestication. This refers to how we are taught to behave, think, and ultimately function in society. In your formative years the influences are vast starting with your parents and the extended village around you — teachers, friends and broader societal institutions.

Eventually the question of “What will I become?” takes hold and this domestication is a major influence on that answer. Your domestication influences how you will answer this question — what you know and what you think you know guide everything. We like to answer this question because it comes with a business card and money; it’s easy to illustrate our worth to the world.

There is a second question. A quieter question. A question also influenced by your domestication — “Who will I become?” This is a question that answers the aspects of your character and soul, and tends not to come with a business card at all.

It should be stressed that domestication, circumstance and time are not static but dynamic — both these questions should be continually asked. And as a general rule, “Who will I become?” is the more difficult of the two questions because you have to look deep into the mirror.

Make sure you are asking.

iamgpe (looking in the mirror)