I am you

As I purchase the ball of rice, as the yen drops to the dollar, I think of my comfortable life back in the United States. I sigh, feeling the insight, to live on the other side of the coin. Living so poorly, should I delve deep into romanticism, live in a dream like world, in love with grief and suffering. To dig a bit deeper, to feel a bit harder, to grit towards the brink of war. To have the hell, beaten out of me by the upcoming winter.

Should I flee, to not fight, like a rabbit. As I stroll to work, I gaze at the Japanese Alps, the peaks covered in snow and clouds, slowly blending into reds and yellows along the descent. A brisk cold chill runs through this small mountain town, and I think of the comment my Israeli friend made. “A lion in peace and a rabbit in war.” I do not understand what that means. I wonder, if this metaphor bleeds outside of the Arabic world, and into the silent fight between communism and capitalism.

There is a lot of judgment over the true cost of oil. However, as the currency drops here, the price of everything seems to change. The change in currency, changes my identity, and my relationships with others. As if to be forced into a class that divides or unifies, and to reason which one is wiser. Just as our identity changes during war, during a fight, so does our identity when the currency drops.

Once a friend, now a foe. Once a worker, now a prisoner. Once a child, now a warrior. Once a teacher, now a criminal.

The other side of the coin, once a fighter, now a forgiver. Once a stranger, now a soul mate. Once a neighbor, now family. Once insane, now a social butterfly.

To see the fragility of the human condition, or to see the God in skin. To live in the absence of light, or to be free from darkness. Identity shifts just as the volcanoes, or the cliffs. Identity seeps through generations, through nations, through currency, religion and art. It shines through social structures and family systems. Identity creates wars, and end wars. Identity can be of an individual or of a Nation.

Identity can be a manifestation of the ego, that a grandfather passes down to his grandson. A Godfather creates for his God child. Identity changes from one economic system to another.

Food is a wonderful identity, whether you eat potatoes, or rice. Both are for energy. The sugars, the fruits, the vegetables, the cheeses, the wines, the sakis. The smells, the medicine, the creams, and the lotions. The desserts, the meats. Your identity could be boiled down to whether you prefer cooked meat or raw fish.

Identity can simply be fear of an oppressor, or addiction to power. Identity can be an illusion of victory or loss. Identity then seperates, it can fall piece by piece into categories of religion, or territory. All under the umbrella of energy.

Is your energy from Nuclear energy or is it fossil fuels. Is it wind energy, or hydropower that your society protects and worships?

There are two sides to the coin, and there are two sides to the person. The currency drops, people will change with it.

Its is a clear day.

Everyday the car salesman, knows his role as the seller. The customer knows their role as the buyer. The man who lives as a communist, knows his role as the hard worker, the penny pincher, powerlessness is the victor.

The capitalist man knows his role as the carpet bagger, the cash cow, the illusion of power attracts him.

The woman's identity could be her job, her home, her cleanliness, her style. Her husband, her number and age of children. Her children’s roles in society, their schools, their jobs.

Age and health play a vital role in a persons perspective the attachment style, even every form of communication.

The language of the artist, the teacher, the student. The type of alphabet, the structure of a sentence, the interpretation and filtering of words. Filtered through what type of lens, an intellectual one, or a spiritual one?

Being as small as I am in this material world, before I close my eyes tonight. My belly will be filled with rice, my pockets weighed down in coins, my job waiting for me tomorrow. Deep down knowing the truth, that my identity goes as far as fair weather.