How Do You Find Your Essence?

Do you know what your Essence is?

Do you know what your essence is? Does anyone truly understand themselves?

Essence: the intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something.

What is your essential nature and why do you feel it is an indispensable part of you?

What would you find if you were able to open yourself up like a can of sardines?

There’s the problem — the indispensable part of us is intangible. You cannot see it or touch it. It is impossible to describe or understand.

We can, however, feel it. It is hidden in a deep part of us and lays there out of sight. We hear it in the silent voice in our heads that softly hums and will sometimes shout. It is in the pit of our stomachs that roll and rumble alerting us to our body’s response — something is making us uncomfortable.

When we develop inside our mother’s womb, our essence is already there within us. As a parent, I could sense it in each of my children, even as infants — and each was different. No one’s essence is the same.

Is our essence what we often refer to as our soul? Perhaps. The definition of each is similar.

Soul: emotional or intellectual energy or intensity, especially as revealed in a work of art or an artistic performance. We are all works of art.

Some might say our essence is inherited — a bit of this and a part of that from each of our parents. Maybe, but I would assume that is not the case.

I do not believe there is any way we will ever know. We are affected by our parents, but we do not inherit our essence like it is part of our genes. How can we verify just what our essence, or soul, is? I do not believe it is possible to understand fully.

Before we are born, we automatically respond to our parent's input — their voices and actions, mood swings, and responses to stimuli. Each of those becomes our own with subtle differences. At least for a length of time depending on our own understanding of that ethereal feeling inside us. We cannot avoid being influenced by our parents.

We also cannot avoid the influence of every other person we listen to, watch, and interact with, in any form. The music we listen to will change over time, as will the tv programs, movies, and webinars we watch. Is our essence affected by that stimuli and change as well?

Perhaps our soul, or essence, is static, but that does not seem reasonable to me. Is it possible for that intangible part of us to mature? Or is it the part of us that responds to the outside stimuli and causes us to grow mentally and mature throughout our lives?

Have you ever wondered why you and a sibling do not get along? You were raised in the same household receiving the same stimuli with subtle differences based on your sex, age, and place in the family.

You might expect those siblings to respond pretty much the same and have similar reactions and feelings. That may be true in many situations, predominately when we are young. However, as we grow and experience different stimuli, we each change. We are looking through a different lens and filter, and therefore, we respond individually and change in our own unique way.

So when a sibling reacts differently than you expect, it may anger you. Why do they feel that way? You think they should respond the same as you. The reality is that just will not happen — sometimes, but not consistently. From day one, we each respond in our own unique way. We change as we age, and we will process stimuli in different ways, giving us dissimilar understanding and beliefs.

Does our essence change? Personally, I do not think so — I believe it guides us in our day-to-day lives. It is always there nudging us. Sometimes we pay attention. Sometimes the roar in our heads, or the sadness in our hearts, is too much and we do not recognize the signals; we ignore them.

I wish I understood myself. Sadly, I do not, and I doubt many of us do.

Someone once told me they understood me better than I understood myself. I smiled, shook my head, and responded, “No, you don’t.” In my mind, I was saying, “Oh baby, you do not have a clue.”

Life is a process, an amazing journey, and I am still trying to understand all the many variables as I filter through them. Perhaps by the time I leave this earth, I will understand myself better. My essence guides me; I know it does.

There is always hope — that is what my soul keeps telling me.