a modernization of a quote from 'whoso knoweth himself" by ibn el'arabi:

you are not a you.
this is life, without any you.

this is not life inside you,
nor is it you in the world.
you don't cause events,
and life is not forcing you into certain actions.

you are not all that exists,
nor are personal traits proof of a you.

you never were,
and you never will be.
not by your own volition,
not by life's movement,
and not with life's movement, does a you exist.

you can't cease to be and you can't continue to exist.

there is only life
without separation.


original:

"And for this the Prophet (upon whom be peace) said:  "Whoso knoweth himself knoweth his Lord." And he said (upon him be peace): "I know my Lord by my Lord."  The Prophet (upon whom be peace) points out by that, that thou art not thou: thou art He, without thou; not He entering into thee, nor thou entering into Him, nor He proceeding forth from thee, nor thou proceeding forth from Him. And it is not meant by that, that thou art aught that exists or thine attributes aught that exists, but it is meant by it that thou never wast nor wilt be, whether by thyself or through Him or in Him or along with Him. Thou art neither ceasing to be nor still existing. Thou art He, without one of these limitations. Then if thou know thine existence thus, then thou knowest God; and if not, then not."

-- from a translation of an Arabic manuscript in the Hunterian Collection, Glasgow University. Translation by T.H. Wier.