We are what we pretend to be?

But then, who am I if I'm not Ulysses

on the turbulent seas

fighting against the GODS?

Who am I if I'm not a great king

leading a great army to vanquish my enemies?

Who am I if but a mere mortal

clinging to a raft

floating between birth and death?

What is my intention if I intend

to discover an unchanging,

unalterable core of Self?

to find a center that remains steady, regardless of the changing

circumstances of my natural life?

am I what I pretend to be?

I have a hunch!

and that at any moment there are countless universes

within us and we make choices:

to be busy; 

to experience stress;

to be joyful.

to 'see' oneself being drawn toward 

or being repelled away from.

as the world turns,

How do I want to be? 

I've found that by being truthful & loyal & loving,

I attract others who value those attributes.

They are not taught.

They are integral to what it means to be the best of Oneself.

and I am equally drawn to those who express the integrity of those values.

A flower does not feel it's pretending to be a flower;

it simply blooms.

and any fragrance is beautiful and timeless.