Who Are We?

All the world is a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and entrances;
Each man in his time plays many parts.
William Shakespeare

What exactly is our identity? How do we define ourselves? At the most basic level, who are we? What is the essence that makes each of us who we are?

This is a question that has been on my mind for a many years, in varied ways. We each play so many roles in our lives, which is the one that is the true "us"? Or are all of those roles each a fragment of our spirit/soul/whatever?

At this particular moment in time, I believe that each of these individual personas are merely pieces that make up the basic entity of each of us. That belief may change at some point, but for months now I have been thinking of this in relationship to my father.

son brother pilot student friend golfer conservative Catholic pharmacist husband father grandfather Alzheimer's victim

He has certainly been all of these in the course of his 85 years, and many more things as well. Which one most defines him? To me, he has always been, and still is, Daddy.