"Who Are You?" and "What Do You Want?"

There have been a few posts as of late where I have been whining a bit about my life and certain things within it. I got a good smacking today from Richard Bach. I am just finishing re-reading his "Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah" when I came to pages 110 and 130 which say the following as excerpts from the "Messiah's Handbook: Reminders for the Advanced Soul"

Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there.
What you choose to do with them is up to you.

---

In order to live free and happily, you must sacrifice boredom.
It is not always an easy sacrifice.

There is a person with whom I currently do business that has truly become completely toxic for me. I really needed this slap in the face to remind me that I am the creator of my reality and if I want it to change, that's up to me to decide as well as put into action and whining about it is a complete waste of time and energy.

A few years ago, J. Michael Straczynski created a 5 year epic television series called "Babylon 5" that I have been a fan of since the original pilot was shown on TV. Personally, I found the idea of a series that had a long term story in mind from its inception to be a great one.

One of the ongoing story arcs involved two of the ancient races called the Vorlons and the Shadows. The Vorlons seemed to be about a strongly spiritual path and they appeared as beings of light when we finally get to see one without their encounter suits (though someone really needs to tell them that even Krystle Carrington wouldn't wear that much shoulder padding during the early 80's). The Shadows on the other hand were not as pleasant and the conflict between the two races was basically our religious idea of the battle between good and evil. As many of our religions would agree with, the Vorlons are always asking "Who are you?" while the Shadows ask "What do you want?"

As simple as these questions appear to be, they are actually quite profound in their scope and complexity. Depending on how you view and relate to them, they could be as simple as "I am Robert and I want a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich." My life has NEVER been that straightforward and I suspect it would be pretty boring if it were.

As to the Vorlon's question of "Who are You?" I would answer:

• I am an eternal spiritual entity that is currently referenced as Robert and am currently manifesting in this world to learn from and help those around me as a part and parcel of the totality that many refer to as God.

As to the Shadow's question of "What do you want?":

• I want many things depending on how the question is meant:
  
  1. I want to spend my life doing what brings me joy and that seems to be passing on what knowledge I have while learning from others both directly and indirectly.
  2. I want to be the joyful entity that God keeps dropping me glimpses of.
  3. As far as what I want from this world, since I am inclined to believe that it is all an illusion of perception, the majority of "things" that those around me think will give them joy I find to be entertaining but not a "want." The only thing in this world that I would say that I honestly want would be to have someone to share it all with. Someone to share my life with, have companionship and love.

Money and fame are tools that can be interesting diversions, but they can also be a major pain in the backside. I grew up in an middle-class family that was fairly miserable, especially where money was concerned. I have had friends who had more cash than God would know what to do with and yet they were always so busy acquiring more that they usually didn't seem to be very happy. I can honestly say that the happiest times of my life have usually been when I either had nothing or was barely squeaking by. Not that money unto itself is bad, but their are so many more important things to pursue and enjoy in life. Personally, I'll take happiness and joy over wealth any day.