Who are you? It’s the most elemental question in the world, but one that is not always easy to answer. We tend to answer this question by naming roles we fulfill: writer, boyfriend, son, entrepreneur, etc.
你是谁？这是世界上最基本的，但又总是难回答的问题。我们试图凭借清数自己扮演的角色来回答这个问题，如作家，男友，儿子，企业家等等。
It makes sense because these are the roles that others see us fulfilling every day. In our world, we need to market ourselves as this or that role so that others know how to relate to us. But these are things that we do rather than what we are.
这点似乎合情合理，因为我们每天都在履行这些角色，别人都看在眼里。在我们经营的世界里，我们需要以这种或那种角色将自己推销出去，以便别人知晓如何与我们产生联系。这些确实是我们在做的事情，然而这些却无法诠释我们究竟是谁。
Most religions and spiritual belief systems teach that we are not our bodies, though we inhabit them and identify with them through the course of a lifetime. Nor are we our minds, though we use our minds and intelligence to guide us in our daily interactions.
大多数宗教和精神理念体系教诲我们不属于肉体，尽管我们以肉体形式存在，且终其一生都与肉体剪不断理还乱。我们也不属于思想，尽管我们使用思想和智慧指导日常交往。
When we identify with these things we cannot accept their loss through physical illness, injury, or death.
当我们认为人等同于肉体和思想，就会无法接受由身体疾病，伤痛或死亡带来的损失。
Whether you believe that some part of us survives our physical death or not, it’s easy to see that when we identify with the roles we fulfill, it becomes very difficult to accept when those roles must change.
不论你是否相信人的某个部分可以永恒，如果我们将自己等同于我们扮演的角色的话，一旦这些角色必须改变，接受改变是非常困难的，这点显而易见。
When we lose our job or must change careers, when we go through a divorce or when someone who helps define a role goes away or dies, who are we then?
当我们失业，需要换工作，当我们历经离婚，亦或帮我们定义角色的某人离开或死亡，到那时我们又是谁呢？
There’s no single answer to this question. For some, there may be a realization that you exist outside of the body and self that you think of as “you” and that you will continue to “be” no matter what roles you shed or even when you shed your physical body.
这个问题答案不是唯一的。对一些人来讲，或许存在某种意识，就是你存在于肉体和自身之外，你认为的自己，不论你自己角色如何转换，甚至你卸下肉体的躯壳，你终将继续是你。
For others, it may be more a matter of considering the purpose of the roles you fulfill. Their purpose may seem more like a lesson on the road to fulfilling your life’s purpose.
对于其他人来讲，这或许属于认清自己扮演角色目的事情了。各种角色的目的更像人生路上的一堂课程，以此来实现人生的意义。
For example, you may believe that each role allows you to learn more about yourself and others, or that each role is a way for you to manifest and offer love to others during your lifetime.
例如，你或许相信每种角色使你更加地了解自己和他人，亦或，每种角色在你生命中让你向他人证明并奉献了自己的爱。
In this case, when one of the roles you fulfill comes to an end—whether through separation or death or other means—you may need to consider that perhaps you’ve fulfilled the role. Maybe that’s all that was being asked of you.
此种情况下，当过你扮演的角色中，某个角色告终—不论是离别或死亡或其他原因引起的—你或许需要这样考虑，你已经完满了这个角色。或许你能做的已经不遗余力了
If that’s the case, then it’s time to let go of that role and move on. As long as you are alive, there will always be new roles to fulfill if you are open to the possibilities they represent.
如果事已如此，是时间放手继续前行了。只要一息尚存，如果你不将机会拒之门外，新的角色将接踵而至。
Life is all about change.
生命在于改变。
Change is seldom easy or comfortable, but when we don’t let go and allow life to flow the way it’s going, we miss out on opportunities to grow, learn, and have new adventures.
改变不是那般简单，而令人舒适的。然而，如果我们不放手，不能让生活顺其自然，我们终将逝去成长，学习及新鲜的冒险机遇。
