We all have an identity that we believe is who we truly are. As if that identity is static from birth to death. It is how we define ourselves.
Ask me who I am and the reply will be – I am me. A man. A son. A brother. A father. A husband.
Yes yes of course.
But who are you really? What is this thing called identity?
I have been so many different identities.
Dishwasher. Cook. Baker. Carpenter. Contractor. Salesman. Graphic designer. Firefighter. Stay at home dad. Cyclist.
Lover. Tyrant. Romantic. Destroyer.
And spiritual seeker. Dreamer too.
But maybe an imposter as well?
Have I really been any of those things?
And when we lose an identity, what then?
Adopt a new one?
Do we add and shed identities like layers of clothing?
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How do we ever really know who or what we are?
How does belief cloak itself around us to create a way for us to show up in the world?
I want to please you. I will rebel against you.
I am angry. I am sad.
I am generous. I am stingy.
I am cruel. I am compassionate.
I am a student. I am a teacher.
I am charming. I am sullen.
I am cautious. I am reckless.
I am the blinking cursor. I am the words upon the page.
Still I wonder, who really am I?
*******
I am Life.
For now.
And in death?
*******
I am Life.
Jamie Gilroy is a Mindset Coach working with men to unlock their fullest potential. Are you looking to tweak and improve some issues in your life? Are you interested in a free clarity call to investigate working with Jamie? Email him at jbgilroy@icloud.com Check out his website to learn more about the work he does: https://jamesbgilroy.com
Today in my morning meditation I was strongly feeling my middle brother David who passed away almost two months ago on November 20, 2023. He was 71 years old. A bit of preface here: He also was my abuser growing up (to clarify: emotional and physical, not sexual) and although I had reconciled those experiences through my own inner trauma work we never spoke directly about that time in our lives. We were never very close in our young adulthood although he was very generous when I moved to Encinitas CA to participate in don Miguel Ruiz’s Dreaming School in 2002. He and his wife Carol lived two towns over in Solana Beach. We interacted quite a bit sharing meals and dog walks on the beach and David took a real interest in my son Nick who was 12 at the time. It wasn’t until 20 years later that I became fully aware to the degree of harm I experienced at the hands of my brother while involved in some somatic therapy around my CPTSD diagnosis. I was becoming repeatedly trigg
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