I was prompted to think of this today when I received a scam email. It was one of those ones trying to get hold of your bank details. It invited me to confirm some details about a non-existent account. I recognised it for what it was, took appropriate action and no harm was done..... but what if my identity had really been stolen? What does our identity really mean to us?
What is it about you that makes you......... well, you?
If you changed your name, would it still be you? I'm sure we'd all agree of course it would be, although it might feel strange at first. How about if you changed the way that you looked? Very radically? There have been a number of face transplants done now......... seeing someone you know with a different face, now that's quite challenging! Did you ever see the film "Face Off" with John Travolta and Nicholas Cage? One gets the other's face in a pretty far-fetched story of revenge and when he does so seems to take on the other's persona too.
Perhaps it's much more than a physical thing? Maybe it's what you know inside of you - your values, your memories, your beliefs? Perhaps this is coming closer to the "soul" of the person. The essential "you-ness" of a person. I think I might just have made that word up..... but I like it and I'm sure you know what I mean by it!
I think it's a question that we can only ever hope to answer for ourselves. Perhaps the important point here is this. What is special about me that makes me who I am?
One of my early posts was about labels and the way that we label ourselves - female, British, football loving dog-owner etc.etc. What labels do you apply to yourself? Mother to X? Son to Y? Doing job Z?
How do these labels define you and more importantly - how do they limit you? If you put yourself in Box A, then maybe you deny yourself the chance to think about how the world looks from Box B? Or maybe...... even better...... from outside any box at all!
So spend some time today thinking about what defines who you are and makes up your essential "you-ness". Once you know this, it's easier to understand how others see you and raises your awareness about the essential "you-ness" of others too. Native Americans used to say "You can never understand a person until you walk a mile in their shoes". Maybe this way, you can take those steps inside your mind instead...... Enjoy your day.
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