When my daughter calls me ‘My dad,’ I am born into a father.
When my mother speaks ‘My son,’ I retreat back into the boy.
When my brother calls me ‘Brother,’ I step into the frame of a brother.
Each relative gives me a name, and in the space between their breath and my name, I dissolve and reform into the person they expect to see.
I speak their scripts; I move to their cadence.
But in the quiet, a question lingers: Am I truly living these roles, or am I merely playing them with rehearsed perfection?
Life feels like a vast, crowded stage, and I wonder how many characters I am meant to inhabit before the curtain falls.
Every role comes pre-written with its own dialogues, leaving me to ask if I have ever spoken a single word of my own.
Do I have a say in my own life, or Am I only an actor following the director’s light? I am not sure.
Everyone chooses a convenient title for me, fitting me neatly into the puzzle of their lives. But when I look in the mirror, what title do I claim for myself? Do I even have a choice?
Each character is cast so precisely, yet my real self remains hidden backstage, waiting for an entry that never comes.
Who am I beneath all these assigned names?
Am I a seamless blend of every role given to me, or the accumulated noise of all the titles I answer to?
Is there a genuine 'I' waiting to be found?
And then, softly breaking through the noise, my wife calls me ‘My dear’—and for a moment, the stage fades… Love remains and it made perfect sense of this drama.
This is such a profound reflection on identity and the masks we wear every day. Great brother.
பதிலளிநீக்குThanks Brother for your feedback. Keep me inspired
நீக்குWhen I read this, Sago, I was reminded of Shakespeare’s *Seven stages of Man*. But your writing beautifully presents the seven stages of character that all of us play in our daily lives! Every day, we step into different roles. Sometimes we feel important, sometimes we need to be cautious, sometimes we become more responsible, and sometimes we act naughty or even burst into tears! Each moment brings out a different side of us.While reading your words, I started recalling the different characters I play in my own life. What a wonderful way to reflect on ourselves, Sago! And suddenly, my husband’s voice breaks my thoughts: “Coffee!” ☕😂
பதிலளிநீக்குThere I go, from a thoughtful reader straight into the role of a wife r chef!
Life is indeed a stage, and we are all actors, switching roles from one moment to the next.
Thank you, Sago, for making us think, smile, reflect, and discover ourselves through your beautiful writings.
Dear Sago, I’m happy that you are able to relate with my writing and apply into your life and beautifully explain how it makes sense. You are a source of inspiration.
நீக்குAn eloquent revelation of a life-long soul searching, and suddenly in the last paragraph the clue is revealed and anyone doing such a lifelong search for meaning will find what they were looking for. The life long soul searching is nothing but the distance between, "I" and "Thou," and the moment you shed light between this "I" and "Thou", the meaning of "Love" emerges and ends the lifelong search. A lovely piece of reflection that helps people to start living and loving.
பதிலளிநீக்குThanks Glory, my brother, for taking your time to read and appreciate. In the original, kavikko didn’t conclude this way. He sounded more existentialistic, rather desperate for meaning and searching for meaning. I wanted to conclude this way because whatever feel we in life, it’s always in connection with others. Without others, there is no meaning to I. Our task in life is to find that ‘other’ who still makes our life meaningful amidst the chaos.
பதிலளிநீக்குBeautifully expressed. Perhaps we are a little of every role we play, but love is what reminds us of who we truly are beneath them all.🤍
பதிலளிநீக்கு