“i” versus “i”

The “i” identity is closer to my mind than the skin of my body. Personal “i” is a mental cosmetic, hiding most of the self as skin hides most of the body. Existential questions seep from the pores of my mind, bathing me with doubts. The mind sheds many “i’s” during my life, forming new identities of self. Causing me to wonder, if I could peel back the skin of the mind, would I still resemble “self”?

What is the distance between your mind and mine? Identity. I can feel the skin of your identity rubbing against mine; I can feel the skin of your mind touching mine. Though identity is the distance which lies between us, this distance is imaginary, existing only in the mind. Yet even in the mind I still can touch your presence. For the mind never allows me to occupy it by myself; it always leave space for they and you to live.

“i” is a thought with an interlocking shape, for I cannot know who I am without knowing who I am not. So whenever I think of self, I invite others into my mind. If I can’t think of self without thinking of others, then the “i’s” in others must be more connected to the “i” in me than seem to be. I find others living in my mind and shaping my thoughts, so what distinguishes me from you?

Identification is a mental filter; to identify self, the mind separates it into many slender “i’s”. I chose the “i” which fit me, others chose the “i’s” which fit them, and you chose the “i” which fit you. Thinking is a filtering process; the mind cannot think in whole, only in parts. So thought has to break itself up in parts to complete a meaningful sentence. Nothing can leave the mind whole.

I distinguish myself from others, trying to be freely me. But distinction caused me to be unfree, shackling me to the limitations of identity. For the sake of recognition, I’ve forsaken the fullness of self. Carrying around filter pieces of self at different stages of my life, but never live self full. “i” versus “i”- a competition of self conflicting void.

“i” is the only form of human identity; me, they, and you are all “i’s” formed from different spatial shape and distance. From a narrow mental view, the “i” in self has an independent stance, but a wider view reveals that the “i” in me leans upon the “i’s” in they and you so that its existence can stand.