We change so much throughout the years, from cell regeneration to physical shifts depending on our environment and what we feed our body. From the moment each of us was conceived, we started taking forms and space on this earth. Our physical form takes the shape of a fetus, then an infant, a boy or a girl, to a teenager, to an adult, and continues to transform with time. Those are the tangible changes unique to each one of us. What about our essence? That intrinsic nature that makes us even more special, giving us the confidence and right to exist and to take up space. Sure, we all change and grow, but has our essence changed that much?
I keep coming back to something deep within calling me to stay true to it. Perhaps it’s a voice that had been silent for a while because I was busy with living and being distracted by life itself. It is a voice that has been patiently waiting for the right time to share some guidance and wisdom. Life experiences and struggles have helped me to dig deep, to be with my self, and to fall in love with stillness. Only then can I hear my true voice…and discover my essence.
Will I be able to describe what my essence is to anyone? I don’t think so. But I do know I’m in a profound relationship with my self, and continue to learn from it more about who I am. This understanding comes only when I give my essence the attention it deserves, in my quiet time when I write, read, paint, or daydream. My essence has always been there, yes that golden essence in its purest form from the very start.
If you don't mind sharing, please tell me more about how you sense your true inner self. How do you peel back the layers of other people's dreams for you? The programming of education and society? The attraction to things that please the senses? Is the true essence of Ann Pham purely born or cultivated?