Who am I? How do I express it? These two questions are the quintessential questions that have haunted humans since our first ability to be consciously aware and will continue until we are extinct.

The final letter in the acronym of LOVE is “E” and I had chosen expression as the word. There are many ways that we can express ourselves and at different times or to different people we may in fact have different ways of expressing ourselves. But in order for us to be truly happy each expression of ourselves must be a facet of the same diamond. We are one stone revolving in different lights.

In order to love and respect ourselves it is necessary we have consistency in our personal expression of self. If we behave ethically when we are a friend or family member but unethically when we are doing business this rift in our personality will in fact tear us apart at the seams as surely as the San Andreas fault will widen. Both are inevitable. But here is something interesting. If we are unethical in both our personal and professional lives we are in harmony. In other words it is the consistency which is important.

This need for consistency is the same as the need for order in the universe. I would further suggest that we need to be consistent to our true nature. So the person who has a deep rooted sense of ethics must in fact be true to them all the time and with every situation. To be any less would not be authentic and inauthenticity is the fastest road to unhappiness.

Shakespeare wrote: “to thine own self be true”. I believe the fundamental reason behind this is we cannot love ourselves if we are not true to ourselves and if we do not love ourselves then we cannot love another. And if we cannot love another then none can love us.

So in answer to the complex yet simple question of “how do I express it”, as it relates to ourselves, I believe the correct response could be: consciously, creatively and consistently. And so it is.