Identity (part 4)
I AM WHAT I AM - FOR NOW!
At some point, each person's life has been changed in the blink of an eye. Whether it is the birth of a newborn child or the sight of a bird in flight which inspires beyond imagination, the discovery of a disease in our bodies or the death of a loved one. These happy and tragic "accidents" are one of the things we can count on in our lives - for better or worse; they are events which change us, and often our identities. In some of these matters, it is our lack of choice, the apparent chance of it all, which is equally invigorating and frustrating.
We literally live on the edge - all the time. Whether or not we are conscious of that fact does not change it.
As much as we think we are stable, we are really part of this happy and tragic accident called Life. What we do have choice and control over is somewhat limited, however, it is also very significant. Our thoughts and how we integrate our choices and the accidents are largely within our control. Again, whether or not we are conscious of that fact does not change it.
John Lennon wrote, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making plans." I can amend that to "Your life is your choice between the happy and tragic accidents."
While your identity is your choice, make your choice. Make it passionately and for the good of all.
When you feel the wind blowing you in a different direction and it seems good and right, don't turn into the wind and resist, but allow organic evolution to take you somewhere the flowers bloom in a different season. Resisting these "leads" often leads to regret for what might have been.
Our souls cry for choice within a life of happy and tragic accidents.
Be who you want to be.
It's your identity, it's your life - for now.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
This Morning 3/23/12
As part of the application of this identity discourse, I've changed the outward appearance of this blog! Tomorrow morning I will continue the essay.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
This Morning 3/21/12
Identity (part 3)
As we look at this ominous year, 2012, our technological, globalized world has ballooned to a population explosion of 7 billion people. That's one billion more people on Earth than only 12 years ago. With 150 babies being born every minute, our finite resources are being hoarded and squandered by those in control of the world economies and trade agreements. The forecast by prognosticators of prophecies - both indigenous and not - leans toward worldwide disarray coming to a head this year, resulting in either more coherence following more chaos, or more chaos, period. Governments are being toppled in the Middle East and in north Africa, the Occupy Movement in the U.S. is on the move even as law enforcement creates more and more barriers for public expression of civil unrest, China is on the rise economically as its people are still being oppressed while they fund two U.S.-based wars, and Greece was just bailed out by the European Union with, predictably, more bailouts to come. Overall, the transition of the Earth's axis, rise in surface temperatures, increased tectonic plate movement, and active Sun flares have certainly made for an inauspicious last few years leading up to this year, 2012.
However, changes are natural to the Earth. For over 3 billion years, She, the Earth, has been changing. We know from scientists and paleontologists the relative time frame of specific eras in which changes were extreme: when dinosaurs inhabited the Earth, the Ice Age, when humans evolved into our present form. The history of the Earth is written in and upon the Earth itself. We accept this history and these changes as inevitable across time. But when it comes to changing ourselves, our own behaviors, the ways we interact in relationship to the world, the resistance is strong. Perhaps this is because we don't see our ourselves in the context of "an era" of evolution.
Our personal experiences as individuals, the history of our lives, like the Earth's, are also written within and upon us. From childhood scars to the look in our eyes, from the way we walk to our manner of speech, much can be "read" about us without a word being uttered to describe the path we've walked. This is something akin to our vibe or energy and it becomes part of our identity, whether we like it or not.
If identity, as I've described in the three parts of this essay, is the culmination of who we are in totality, from our relationship status and job to our past childhood experiences, it is no wonder we are conflicted by the idea of change. And yet, we have no good reason not to change when this who we are isn't serving us or humanity very well.
We live in a world wrought with perceived individualism; the community is now globally remote. The adage - Think Globally, Act Locally - has never been more actualized. However, if we apply this behaviorally, in the context of identity, we are left with something like:
I Am What I Am - For Now!
(to be continued)
As we look at this ominous year, 2012, our technological, globalized world has ballooned to a population explosion of 7 billion people. That's one billion more people on Earth than only 12 years ago. With 150 babies being born every minute, our finite resources are being hoarded and squandered by those in control of the world economies and trade agreements. The forecast by prognosticators of prophecies - both indigenous and not - leans toward worldwide disarray coming to a head this year, resulting in either more coherence following more chaos, or more chaos, period. Governments are being toppled in the Middle East and in north Africa, the Occupy Movement in the U.S. is on the move even as law enforcement creates more and more barriers for public expression of civil unrest, China is on the rise economically as its people are still being oppressed while they fund two U.S.-based wars, and Greece was just bailed out by the European Union with, predictably, more bailouts to come. Overall, the transition of the Earth's axis, rise in surface temperatures, increased tectonic plate movement, and active Sun flares have certainly made for an inauspicious last few years leading up to this year, 2012.
However, changes are natural to the Earth. For over 3 billion years, She, the Earth, has been changing. We know from scientists and paleontologists the relative time frame of specific eras in which changes were extreme: when dinosaurs inhabited the Earth, the Ice Age, when humans evolved into our present form. The history of the Earth is written in and upon the Earth itself. We accept this history and these changes as inevitable across time. But when it comes to changing ourselves, our own behaviors, the ways we interact in relationship to the world, the resistance is strong. Perhaps this is because we don't see our ourselves in the context of "an era" of evolution.
Our personal experiences as individuals, the history of our lives, like the Earth's, are also written within and upon us. From childhood scars to the look in our eyes, from the way we walk to our manner of speech, much can be "read" about us without a word being uttered to describe the path we've walked. This is something akin to our vibe or energy and it becomes part of our identity, whether we like it or not.
If identity, as I've described in the three parts of this essay, is the culmination of who we are in totality, from our relationship status and job to our past childhood experiences, it is no wonder we are conflicted by the idea of change. And yet, we have no good reason not to change when this who we are isn't serving us or humanity very well.
We live in a world wrought with perceived individualism; the community is now globally remote. The adage - Think Globally, Act Locally - has never been more actualized. However, if we apply this behaviorally, in the context of identity, we are left with something like:
I Am What I Am - For Now!
(to be continued)
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
This Morning 3/20/12
Identity (part 2)
The trouble with identity is its tendency to quantify. One is measured by identity. Profession, age, relationship status, and even where one is from colors the inward and outward identity. This formula is actually helpful when trying to define someone or refer to them by something other than name. However, identity can also become an invisible barrier because we are expected (and expect ourselves) to act a particular way and perform certain tasks simply because we have a specific identity.
I'm struck with the idea of a "class clown" who underneath all that goofiness is actually a very depressed individual who never has the room to be authentically sad in front of people. This problem of identity is a sociological issue, a community issue, a family issue, and a personal issue.
If one day I woke up and said I want to work for the defense department, my entire network of friends and family would go crazy with worry and annoyance because I would be acting completely outside of my perceived identity as a peace worker and musician. We are afraid of change.
We are afraid to lose ourselves if we change. We are afraid to lose others if they change. Why do we react like this when we are here, on average, 75 years or so?
When we really become adults, in the 25-35 year old range, we are expected to have developed enough to be stable emotionally and mentally. Within this culture, we are expected to have a sense of how we will survive and provide for ourselves and family, we are expected to contribute positively to society. This "expectation" is rooted in history - every community needs a doctor, a healer, an artist, a judge, a protector, a religious, an elder, a planner, a technician, a visionary, a cook, a farmer, a hunter, and so on and so on. We are programmed from thousands of years of evolution to be what we are so that the community can count on us for that function to help balance and provide the needs of the society.
The year 2012 has a different sociological framework however and we are not limited to this perceived balancing task anymore. The population is bulging and there are more people than there are roles to fill.
(to be continued)
Monday, March 19, 2012
This Morning 3/19/12
Identity (part 1)
People resist change. It is not easy to change. Whether changing a process of thought, a behavior, a job, one's location, or a relationship, changing comes up against a myriad of resistors both inside oneself and from one's friends.
For all of my adult life, I have been a professional musician. Music and being a musician has been the nest of my identity. This means I have always known how to find "home" with myself and with the world. This sense of home, of belonging, provides a window to the future because of knowing where I belong. Making music and writing songs has never been questioned. It has been my home.
A time of change is upon my sense of home. I am changing my physical home soon, my children have moved on to their own homes, my sense of home in partnership with a significant other has changed in the last year, and I am shifting my thinking to reorient the way I am making a living. As well, the idea of making music as a professional is shifting inside my being.
The music business has changed so much in the last ten years. In the last four years, I lost my agent, funding for the arts became difficult to procure, the economy went crazy and I have felt less and less able to tour because of the immediacy of financial obligations. The reality of the music business has, at 50, come crashing down on me. And so has my sense of identity.
(to be continued)
People resist change. It is not easy to change. Whether changing a process of thought, a behavior, a job, one's location, or a relationship, changing comes up against a myriad of resistors both inside oneself and from one's friends.
For all of my adult life, I have been a professional musician. Music and being a musician has been the nest of my identity. This means I have always known how to find "home" with myself and with the world. This sense of home, of belonging, provides a window to the future because of knowing where I belong. Making music and writing songs has never been questioned. It has been my home.
A time of change is upon my sense of home. I am changing my physical home soon, my children have moved on to their own homes, my sense of home in partnership with a significant other has changed in the last year, and I am shifting my thinking to reorient the way I am making a living. As well, the idea of making music as a professional is shifting inside my being.
The music business has changed so much in the last ten years. In the last four years, I lost my agent, funding for the arts became difficult to procure, the economy went crazy and I have felt less and less able to tour because of the immediacy of financial obligations. The reality of the music business has, at 50, come crashing down on me. And so has my sense of identity.
(to be continued)
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