IF I WEREN’T ME, WHO WOULD I BE?

If not Me,
Who would I be?

Perhaps a seagull,
riding the wind above the shoreline,
circling the water where sky and earth
can no longer agree who belongs to whom.
I would watch the world from a distance,
remember faces with a smile,
and delight in simple treasures—

Sip of the salty sea,
a forgotten French fry,
a child’s laughter carried by the breeze,
the endless rhythm of the waves.

Or perhaps I would become a fox,
soft-footed and clever,
slipping through forests before dawn.
I would trust my instincts,
follow invisible maps,
and discover what waits beneath the surface.
I would know that not all treasures
are meant to be seen at first glance.

Some days,
I think I would choose to be a pine tree.Forever green,
I would stand through every season,
my roots deep,
my branches lifted toward heaven.
The storms would come and go,
yet I would remain,
swaying instead of breaking,
whispering secrets to the wind.

And in a moment decide I Am the wind,
I would become that too.

Invisible, yet always present,
I would travel across the earth,
moving between mountains,
across lakes,
through forests,
and over open fields.
Born from the sun’s uneven warming of the world,
I would journey from places of abundance
to places in need,
carrying seeds,
cooling summer afternoons,
and reminding all living things
that movement is part of life.

No one would see me,
yet everyone would feel my presence.

And when my heart longed for movement,
I would become a river.

I would not ask where I was going.
I would simply flow.
Around rocks.
Through valleys.
Past fields and forests.
Giving life wherever I passed,
trusting that every bend
was part of the journey.

But if I truly wished to enter a world
unlike any other,
I would become an octopus.

A creature of mystery and wonder,
with three hearts, unbroken, with
blue blood,
and a mind that reaches
through eight curious arms.
I would change colors with my mood,
solve puzzles for amusement,
and disappear into places
others never thought to look, unless I wanted to be found.

A seagull to teach me freedom.

A fox to teach me wonder hidden beneath the snow.

A pine tree to teach me stillness through every season.

The wind to remind me that movement is not the same as leaving.

A river to teach me trust when the path bends beyond sight.

An octopus to teach me that mystery is not meant to be solved, only explored.

Yet the longer I sit with the question,the quieter the answer becomes.

For perhaps I was never meant to become them at all.

Perhaps the seagull left me its wings,the fox its curiosity,the pine tree its resilience,the wind its freedom,the river its surrender,and the octopus its wonder.

I have flown with dreams.

I have searched through shadows.

I have stood through storms.

I have danced with the wind.

I have followed unseen currents.

I have marveled at the mysteries of life.

And perhaps that is the beauty of being human.

We spend our lives looking outward,imagining all the things we might become,

only to discover

that the earth,the sky,the water,the forest,and the sea

have been quietly shaping us all along.