I believe that part of identity grows from our life experiences and not only from our genetic makeup. After many decades of living and learning I find that my identity is more than who I am ethnically, it is also how I am identified by others. We humans are gullible enough to believe a lot of what we hear and a lot of what we see. When we HEAR something about ourselves, that we are this or that, we tend to transform ourselves in response to those words, good or bad though they may be. That alteration becomes folded into our identity even in small ways. Things that are small become huge when multiplied by years and decades. Alternately when we SEE ourselves we compare what we see to some icon we hold in an unconscious part of our minds, again good of bad. Thus our identity shifts and molds over time. It is like a movie that evolves into the unknown but always with anchors in earlier scenes from our movie. I chose to enjoy my private show, try out variations of my existential identity to see how they fit. If they fit I adopt them until they no longer fit, then I rinse and repeat. By changing I stay full of the essence of living.
I believe that part of
I believe that part of identity grows from our life experiences and not only from our genetic makeup. After many decades of living and learning I find that my identity is more than who I am ethnically, it is also how I am identified by others. We humans are gullible enough to believe a lot of what we hear and a lot of what we see. When we HEAR something about ourselves, that we are this or that, we tend to transform ourselves in response to those words, good or bad though they may be. That alteration becomes folded into our identity even in small ways. Things that are small become huge when multiplied by years and decades. Alternately when we SEE ourselves we compare what we see to some icon we hold in an unconscious part of our minds, again good of bad. Thus our identity shifts and molds over time. It is like a movie that evolves into the unknown but always with anchors in earlier scenes from our movie. I chose to enjoy my private show, try out variations of my existential identity to see how they fit. If they fit I adopt them until they no longer fit, then I rinse and repeat. By changing I stay full of the essence of living.