We often tell ourselves: “I really want to be a __”. Or, “My dream is to have __”. Everything seems so clear in the present moment, and yet, our aspirations lie in the future. How can our present self gauge our future self’s needs? If our present is a living, breathing organism, then our future self is a wish, an undefined quantity not based in reality. What use are the things we tell ourselves we’ll be? If we are undefined, then what is me? How can “I” want anything?

In the grand scheme of things, we are everything. We are made up of everything around us, we are the space in between, we are the constant exchange and transformation of matter and energy. Since everything is in flux and we are intrinsically connected to it all, we can never be fixed. We can never be clearly defined. And yet, we try to define ourselves. We say we are this kind of person, or we want to become that kind of being. But those are only boxes we use to make sense of what cannot be captured. They’re simplifications, not truths.

It’s easier to think in terms of certainty. It’s more comfortable to say we hold certain beliefs or values, as if those things are solid and lasting. But if we’re always changing, and the world is always shifting, then those beliefs aren’t anchors - they’re chains. They bind us to something static, when our nature is anything but. To define ourselves is, ironically, to misdefine ourselves. Because any definition points to a moment in time, a structure, a conclusion - when in reality, we are ongoing, we are movement, we are not something that can be summed up.

If we accept that we are undefined, something interesting happens. A kind of unconscious truth rises to the surface, the understanding that we don’t know what we are - and that’s okay. In fact, it’s the most honest answer we can give. We become not a set identity, but a path - undefined, moving, impossible to fully grasp. Like an undefined number in a formula, we can’t be plugged in or calculated. To try would be to miss the point entirely.

So instead of trying to measure ourselves or force ourselves into predefined patterns, maybe the most authentic thing we can do is respond to what’s in front of us - one moment at a time. If we can move with the flow rather than fight it, we align more closely with our true nature. We stop trying to be something, and instead, we simply are. Undefined, but alive.