(“Solkatt”  – Swedish for “a playful reflection of the sun”.  Literally “sun cat”.) 

Who Am I?  

I am the jerk who cut you off when you were trying to cross the street.  I am the nice young man who helped you reach for a can from the top shelf at the grocery store.  I am the nicest child who couldn’t hurt a fly.  I am the angry disrespected foreigner demanding money back for a phone card that didn’t work.  I am weak and uncertain when faced with violence.   I am strong and full of confidence when faced with a problem.  I am kind.  I am mean.  I am a hundred persons in one.  The flawless son my mother sees and believes me to be.  The distant aloof friend my childhood buddies think I am.   The cheerful colleague my employer believes me to be.  The snobby stranger the restaurant owner thinks I am.  The loving husband and partner my wife sees in me.   The rich tourist the street vendor is sure I am.  The cheating taxpayer Canada Revenue Services worries I might be.  The terrorist the airport security hopes I am not.  The privileged white male who never had to work for anything.  The tall guy who surely must be a basketball player.  The silently suffering patient with the deadly, incurable cancer.  The happy-go-lucky goofball without a care in the world.  The quiet unassuming non-person in the background bothering no one. 

I am all of these things.  And more.  I’m also who I think I am and try to be.  A gentle ambassador who wants to inspire understanding and create tolerance.  A songwriter.  A kind-hearted traveler. Grumpy when hot.  Smiling when not.  Always trying my best.  Often failing.  But shaking it off and trying harder.  Refusing to fall into the dark.  Because the light is always present; however small.  It is strong enough to shatter the vast darkness, a blurry illumination, a dancing firefly, a little sun cat, a tiny match, the smallest spark.  The light conquers the dark. Every time.

Is that who I am?  A sun cat! Solkatt!