Quote:

I guess my question is. Are you the sum of your experiences or are you something more shaped by your experiences?




It is hard to say if the "something more" is shaped by our experience or if our experience is shaped by our "something more.

If you consider natural talents and abilities, what would they amount to without our experiences to hone and shape them? Consider a person with the potential to become a great guitar player but never picked up a guitar. Is he a guitar player? The question to ask is, does our experiences dictate which talents we express? I think there is a little of both. I guess it is a little like 'does your actions dictate who you are or is who you are dictated by your actions', or, "what came first the chicken or the egg?". Consider the case of the guitar player above, his natural talents would likely lead him to music and eventually a guitar.

I am the sum of my experiences. Is there more to me? Perhaps, but unexpressed if not acted upon. Once acted upon then part of the sum of my experiences.