The Way You Are
In past articles, I have examined some natural components that are inherent in who we are: peace, love, creativity, self-esteem, responsibility, and choice. Now let’s look at how we came to be the way we are.
Where do we begin in determining who we are? Some people think that who we are starts from the moment of our birth. On the other end of the spectrum, a believer in reincarnation assumes many previous past lives and claims our presence is a continuation of that recycling. A more moderate view is one in which we see some continuity beyond just our birthday.
We already know that what our mother ingested during her pregnancy does have some effect on who we are. Remember the biological principle “ontogeny precedes phylogeny”? All it means is that we go through all the stages of biological development as an embryo in our mother’s womb. That means 2.8 billion years of biological evolution in the nine months of pregnancy. One day of pregnancy then roughly stands for 10 million years of evolutionary history. Each day of pregnancy, during which a mother eats well, could then be considered rather critical in the preparation of a being.
Our parents certainly have some influence on the way we are. The health of our parents determines the quality of the ovum and sperm that together became the egg that developed into the baby we became. It is estimated by some teachers of natural health that we carry the influence of our ancestors as far back as eight generations. Our parents not only give us our physical constitution, but they also contribute to our behavior, especially during our upbringing. Freud has shown us more clearly how the past with our parents has something to do with our present.
Thus when we are born, we come into the world with certain predispositions which are translated into our personality and body type. Scientists have already shown that babies begin to develop a personality soon after they are born. We then proceed, with this basic disposition, to use the environment and to acquire and create the being that we are.
What we do in life to affect our body is derived from our nutrition, from our exercise, and from exposure to our environment. As for our mind, it, too, is not just a static thing that goes on without any control from our part. Every moment presents a possibility for us to affect our mind or not. Meditation has been a disciplined way to cultivate our mind.
These arguments will reek havoc with the usual antagonists in the nurture/nature controversy. One side wants to say that everything is predetermined by our genes or biology. The other side wants to say that the environment and life experiences have a final say in who we become. Why would anyone want to be one-sided? It’s so much easier to think that there is value in both views. We come into this world with a certain cast and we then generate something beyond that mold that largely depends on the choices that we make in our lives. Those choices that we don’t make are also choices, but unconscious ones.
Thus part of knowing yourself is knowing how you are the way you are. Those attributes that we all share as humans are important; equally important are those factors that make us individuals.