The Power of “I AM”

The scintillating performances of World’s Fastest Man Usain Bolt at the World Championships in Beijing are still on my mind, he having now chalked up 11 gold medals at the Worlds and 6 at the Olympics.

“I am a legend,” he declared in 2012. Some thought him arrogant to make that declaration. Now, 3 years later, he has certainly manifested legend status. He is the greatest athlete of our time: “I am the greatest,” he prophesied, channeling the spirit of Muhammad Ali, another great athlete.

It is said that the two most powerful words that we can utter are “I am”, for they define who and what we are. Whatever follows those two words is our reality and forms the perspective from which we view and experience our world. Whatever we place after “I am” becomes a label that defines our lives. This also creates otherness as we choose between one thing and another, either consciously or, more often than not, unconsciously.

Why is “I am” so powerful? Let’s go back to the basic grammar we were taught at school. Recall that “I am” is the first person conjugation of the verb “to be”. According to www.dictionary.com, a verb is: “any member of a class of words that function as the main elements of predicates, that typically express action, state, or a relation between two things, and that may be inflected for tense, aspect, voice, mood, and to show agreement with their subject or object.” The verb is a linking word that defines the subject. So whatever we place after “I am” defines what we are.

Say, “I am tired” and what are you? Tired of course. Choose, “I am sad” and you are sad, not happy. Say, “I am an American” and you view the world from whatever experiences being American denotes. Declare, “I am a Christian” and you experience the world through Christian principles.

Reflect on how many times per day you use “I am”. At the very least every time you speak to someone and they ask, “How are you?” you are likely to respond, “I am ….” many times without thinking.

As I muse on the power of these two simple words, it occurs to me that they also stand for:
I = Intention
A = Acceptance
M = Manifestation

For when we say, “I am”, we are signaling our intention for something, our acceptance of it and its manifestation. We should be so very careful about what words we choose, for whatever they are WILL manifest.

“But Marguerite,” you may ask, “Suppose I AM tired? Shouldn’t I truthfully acknowledge it rather than deny it?” Is your being tired your fundamental state of being, or is it just how you happen to be feeling in this moment? For if the latter is the case, then you might choose to say, “I feel tired”. I learned this distinction from my mother many years ago when I was going through a tough time financially. “I am SO broke,” I declared. And she, of boundless wisdom, retorted: “No you are not broke, Marguerite. You are just temporarily short of cash.” And I have NEVER been broke since.

Shakespeare said, “To be or not to be; that is the question.” We answer that question with whatever we place after “I am.” Whenever you notice yourself saying “I am”, remember that what you are really saying is: “It is my Intention to Accept and Manifest … “.