Look for “I”
ROGER-POL DROIT January 2001
Solo Activity
from 101 Expériences de Philosophie Quotidienne | Translated from French
Of all the words there is perhaps none more important or universal than “I”. It is the word by with you express your desires and fears, acts and sensations. It is linked with you feelings and memories. Yet, for a word that is so intertwined with our person-hood, the word is rather impersonal. “I”, linguistically speaking, is completely interchangeable. Despite our differences, we use the exact same word.
Try to pin down, this “I”. What is it? Where is it? How does it manifest? You will find, that if you commit yourself to these questions, you will discover that the nature of this “I” is incredibly nebulous.
This is not a short-term activity. It takes place over a long period of time, in a variety of locations, in a variety of context. After a while, chances are that everything will start to fall apart. That is when things will start to get interesting.
You may investigate “I”’s relationship to the body, thought, spirit. However, what commonality ties it to all these sensations? There appears to be nothing more than a resemblance, like that of different family members. If you prevail for long enough, you’ll end up with more questions than you began. Where to move forward from there is up to you.