What makes us... 2

What makes us ? what contributes to constructing our identity. 

It seems to me that a lot or maybe all of who I am, has to do with everything around me. The people, the environment, the issues, the problems that exist and what matters at that point in time. 

I was in a new place. Spiti; very different from the city I came from, a place secluded and surrounded by mountains, where people were friendly and warm (Im guessing because the place is sooo cold!). The population consists mostly of monks who reside in monasteries built about a 1000 years ago (still in-tact). 

I knew the moment i stepped into this new environment that my behavior and my concerns would have to be re adjusted. This was a subconscious realization at first. You are so busy adapting, that you forget what you were like in the place you let behind. I forgot a lot of things. I forgot that i was going to be in the unites states at a completely new edge of my life. I loved it ! what better than something that makes you feel so in the moment that you forget everything else. Isn't that a good way to say that you actually utilized your time well?

I think it is.

No matter where you go, if you leave your comfort zone (or a familiar environment), the new challenges that you face will stick to you throughout your life, or at least for a good amount of time. 

I see this in me now. My views on life are not different, but they are broader. they are open to new paths and new goals. My perception of who I can be is open to change. This does come with a cost. Uncertainty. Uncertainty in relation to actually knowing who you are and where you have to go. Its an inevitable cost, because somewhere down the line you will find new ideas that you like and new lifestyles that you have to adapt to. 

Even though we are susceptible to loosing our minds when we try to understand who we really are, we should know that change will keep adding layers to our identity, which will eventually dissolve, and be as much of a part of us as anything else.