Identity and Definition
You often hear of people saying that they “need to find themselves.” This usually involves some sort of elaborate trip or getaway to go on a quest to discover who they really are. My Uncle Ed once said about these people, “Take a look at your driver’s license. That’ll tell you who you are!” While I find this comment humorous and somewhat accurate, it is only accurate on a surface level. Our driver’s licenses show a snapshot of us in time. A photo, our height, weight and address. Our birthdate is actually the only thing on that driver’s license that will never change. And maybe your eye color, although there are procedures for that now as well. Everything else on your driver’s license is variable.
A quick Google search of the “definition of identity” reveals the following:
“The fact of being who or what a person or thing is.”
So, how would you define yourself? What variables and characteristics would you use? What do you want people to think about when they think of you?
We live in a society that seems intent on defining who we are and placing us into some sort of identity bucket by their definition. These definitions consist of:
Ancestry
Race
Religion
Sex
Sexual preference
Height
Weight
Age
Place of birth
Where we live now
Marital status
What we do for a living
Political Party Affiliation
Attachment styles
Enneagram
Myers-Briggs
The Five Love languages
Baby Boomer
Millennial
Gen-X
Gen-Z
Extra Hot Venti Vanilla Latte With Two Pumps Delivered In The Pike Position…OK, maybe I took this a little too far.
The point is that some people and media organizations are trying to divide us into tribes and they decide who are what we are in an instant or by appearance rather than really getting to know us. The list of categories I mentioned above is not a complete list, and people are making up new definitions and new words every day! In order to know who I am according to others, I need to study a new language altogether! Sorry, but I already define myself by one term alone. The rest of these definitions are man-made and interesting only as conversational topics to me.
And while it may be helpful or interesting to us to learn more about these parameters and how we see ourselves and apply them to our lives, the bottom line is that we are all Children of God (COGs), or children of the Universe if you want to look at things that way. And that is how I choose to define myself. We are all uniquely created with unique characteristics, talents, interests, and gifts. There are over 8 billion definitions or identities that need to be considered if you want to be accurate.
Make sure people can Identify you, but never let them define you! You define who you are by your identity. Remember how God introduced himself to Moses, he just said, “I AM.”
QUOTES:
“Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.”
Robert Frost
Sat Nam (sut-nam) Sanskrit or Gurmukhi
“I am truth,” or “Truth is my essence.”
Sat Nam is about representing your true identity, not only for the benefit of yourself but also for others. You are connected to all there is – the vast universal truth.”
“Man requires three things in Life: Identity, Stimulation, and Security and the most important of these is Identity.”
David Sheldrick
“I am what I am.”
Popeye
To close, I want to read a poem entitled “Invictus” by William Ernst Henley:
INVICTUS: By William Ernst Henley
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
Identity and definition. You get to decide who you are, not anyone else. Do not let others define you. You get to choose your identity. You are the Captain of your Soul.
LOOK UP! Look in the mirror! What do you see? Look inward! Who are you at your core?
LOOK AHEAD! Who and what do you want to become? Where are you going? What’s the best way to get there?
I LOVE YOU GUYS!
PEACE!