That's a very hard question to answer. I remember on a diving trip
with a friend of mine, we were discussing the possibilities of human
self-analysis. "Who ARE you ?" he asked me. To this question most
people will list a bunch of achievements, desires, hobbies,
etc. i.e. labels, but very few people can come up with a concise
definition of their existance. I guess the true answer might be
approached with the following algorithm :
- Take a snapshot of the universe at the present time, and call it A.
- Take another snapshot of the universe at the present time, but
without you existing in it, and call it B.
- The "difference" between A and B would be the definition of your
existence.
Obviously, none of us is able to take the above snapshots, so the
method of analysis is moot. The closest we can come to self-definition
is by some sort of self-analysis. However, just as physicists will
tell you that it's difficult to study certain elementary particles,
because just by observing them we are perturbing their behaviour, so
does self-analysis yield incorrect results.
However, not all is lost. One can ask an outside observer to do the
analysis for you. For example, you might ask an outside observer to
judge a fragment of your "being" by analyzing what makes the observee
(you) laugh, i.e. define the observee's sense-of-humour. If you've
ever tried this, you will realize it's an intractible problem.
Simplistically, you might approach a self-definition by examining the
"truths" relative to your own spiritual beliefs. Mine are :
- Simplicity
- Respect for all sentient life
- Acceptance of Mortality
- Inner Strength to believe in yourself and follow your own dreams
- Heaven and Hell -- it's all a human creation