Article May 28, 1984 Issue

Who resides in you?

NATHAN A. TALBOT

The obvious answer is that you do; by simple definition don't you inhabit your own being? But the answer really isn't quite that simple.

A geneticist may say that, in a sense, your ancestors inhabit you—through a genetic chain, certain of their characteristics are included in you. Others emphasize your environment, suggesting that the views, thoughts, and attitudes of all those who have your ear, so to speak, can be found in you. At another level, proponents of "You are what you eat" could say that McDonald's and Burger King have taken up residence in us. And at still an altogether different level, conservative religionists claim that the devil himself sometimes dwells in us! No wonder people find themselves occasionally wondering, "Who am I anyway?"

Every single one of us has an inherent desire to be himself—to feel that his individuality is un-invaded, undefiled, pure. At times it may seem that such a desire is thwarted—that we have become vulnerable to uninvited or even wrongful thoughts or actions of others.

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