Where do I begin and end?
An interesting exercise I like to go through is to think about where I start and end.
From a purely physical point of view, is my body a part of me? If I answer "yes", where does my body begin?
What are my physical boundaries?
I suppose it is obvious to some that my body has a torso, head, arms, legs etc. What about my hair and nails? They are part of my body and grow from my body, but what about after I have shed them? Are they still part of me then?
What about the food I eat? Is it a part of me before I eat it? Is it a part of me while I am digesting it? What about my waste? Is it a part of me while I carry it inside my body? If so, is it still part of me after I have expelled it?
Is my boundary defined as my skin edges? What about the warmth my body generates that surrounds me? Is that part of me? My breath?
What about my senses? What are my senses? Are they also bound to the perception of the "external"? If I see and hear and taste and smell, are the sensations part of me? Does that extend to the source of the perception? I can see the Sun, where does the sun end and "me" begin? I can hear a long way into the distance, does the sound I perceive exist without me perceiving it? If not, does that make it part of me?
What of my memories? What of others' memories of me? Are memories of me part of me? If I existed at all and memories are part of me, can I ever be non existent?
When did I begin as a body? I was born, but I grew into a body before I was born. The parts that came together to create my body existed before I was created in my parents, and their parents before them...
When does my body stop being part of me? When I die? If so, is my body like my hair and nails and waste? Part of me until I shed it? If so, is my body me at all if I can shed it and still exist?
I don't have any answers.