Who am I? Why am I here?In my last newsletter I wrote about the African word Ubuntu, the idea that, as humans, we only fully exist through each other. This emphasises the need to think about our own identities, as individuals and as part of our wider communities.
There is a story told about a
Jewish Rabbi named Akiva who gets lost while walking home one night. When he accidentally stumbles into a Roman guard station a soldier shouts out of the dark:
'who are you and why are you here?'
The Rabbi replies, suggesting that the guard might like to come to work for him, and ask him these very questions every morning.
- Who are you?
- Why are you here?
These are fundamental questions of existence. What is my identity and my purpose in life? What am I aiming for and how does that impact on those around me?
The recently released animated video,
Nobody Stands Nowhere, sets out two contrasting visions for our lives:
'Some may feel that life is about success and improvement, being the best you can be. And some think it's about helping the most vulnerable in society.'
In this short film we are encouraged to consider how our own worldview might co-exist with other, quite different ways of seeing the world we all share.
