Isness

Isness. What an odd word. Upon first looking at the word it has the appearance of incompleteness. Could there be letters missing? I asked myself.  I have never heard of this word until yesterday, that is, until I watched the movie called, Third Star, with Benedict Cumberbatch and JJ Field. According to the Miriam-Webster dictionary it means the state of things as they are. 

As I researched the word a little more I discovered that Martin Luther King Jr used the word in one of his speeches:  " I refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him." 

The root is being in the "present moment". I often think about how much we are wishing our lives away waiting for the weekend. Are we experiencing isness during our work week? Our minds go beyond the here and now more frequently than we realize, especially mine.  

Sometimes, I find myself sitting and starring at the computer in a daze, forgetting completely what I was doing, thinking about life as it should be. Then I come back to reality and pound away on the keyboard some more.

But "Isness' is more than about being present, I think. It is being. Being who we are and what we are meant to be. Our essence. When God spoke to Moses from a flame out of the midst of bush and said, "I am that I am" referring to his "isness", took the whole concept to another level.  "Is" seems hard to define with words or labels.  It is neither here or there, but now, this moment, ourselves. 

Interiority Complex = Queendom

Up until the age of five we are authentically ourselves and then when we become wrinkled the same thing happens again. But it is the in between stage that messes us up.  We worry so much about what other people think of us that we lose sight of our uniqueness. Self perception plays a major role too. This is where the comparison game comes in.  We look at ourselves and see lack, then look at others and think that we should be them instead of ourselves.  If only I were like so and so then I would be happy...

I used to think that I was shy, and I was at one point. Then I thought that I wasn't talkative, again, that is how I saw myself.  The list goes on and on. We tell ourselves lies and then believe them. At this point in my life I am well on my way to being authentically me. And this makes me very happy. The video below is very encouraging because we need to grow up with a greater sense of self.