Becoming Who We Are

This past weekend I started reading the biography of Steve Jobs and last night I watched a great documentary on the life of Bob Marley. These are two very different men. Both were flawed but also great in their individual ways. Reading Steve Jobs biography I realized we have much in common if you don’t count Steve Jobs brilliance and success. One thing I have in common with Bob Marley is that we both see life as a spiritual experience and we both love music. What I find interesting about biographies and documentaries is how people are formed into the person they become. We are all a product of our families, especially our parents, and every experience, influence, and human encounter we’ve ever had. People, experiences, and influences, for better or worse, form us into who we are. I have always been interested, if not obsessed, with understanding what makes me tick. Who and what has formed me into the person I am? Why do I think, feel, and act as I do? I have read many biographies in my life. Several things about them are universal. People are complicated and we all have the potential for greatest, whether we achieve it or not. People are also very flawed. We all have wounds and we have all been hurt. People also have a great capacity for healing and most have the ability to overcome whatever pain life has given them. There is really no such thing as a simple person. People may live and act in simple ways but inside of them is a very complicated circuit board that makes them who they are.