“Existence comes before essence”. Who said that?

Likely an existentialist.

Our simple seeker was aware that her Spirit teacher
did not seem to approve of assigning names as credits.
Ideas come to us; we do not go to them, or create them
from nothing, He kept reminding her. What we do with
them is our choice.

Perhaps His position on this and other matters is
intended as a gentle or otherwise put-down, she thought,
on her tendency toward hero-worship.

You don’t call your parents by their personal names.

That’s different.

How?

Calling them mother and father or, more casually, mom
and dad, is a cultural tradition; perhaps a step toward
learning to respect authority and those who have
earned it, one way or another.

Our simple seeker suspected that Spirit was intentionally
distracting her from her focus on Kabbalah and The Tree
of Life.

The Kabbalah has much in common…