This article was posted by CrystalWind.ca.
Adventures In Identity
Category: Personal Development Written by Nimue Brown

How do we explain ourselves to someone else? When do we feel that’s necessary? I think the desire to be understood is a widespread thing and a basic human concern – many of us want the reassurance of making sense to someone else. It’s interesting to ask on what terms we do that. What are the most important things you want someone else to understand about you? How would you share that?
The capitalist colonialist structure in which many of us are caught tells us to express identity through branding. What we consume and how we display our consumption is presented as a way of expressing self. We are given a narrow bandwidth for potential identity, and we choose who we are and how we show that by paying for it.
We might share who we are by telling stories about ourselves. The urge to share stories is also a human one. But, the desire to tell another person who we are, to impose our story of self onto them is a complicated one. I’m always interested in the differences between people sharing stories about their experiences, and people who show up saying things like ‘I am this sort of person,’ not least because I so seldom agree with them!
The sharing of identity also functions to help us understand ourselves. There’s nothing like having someone else reflect back to you something of how they see you. The process of explaining ourselves to someone else can be a process of figuring out who we are, or who we want to be. Knowing how you wish to be seen can be quite telling, and the further it is from how you think you are, the more interesting it gets. Where the lines are between aspiration and untruth at this point, may be hard to define.
What does another person need to know about me in order to work with me, or co-operate with me in some way? What do I need other people to understand? Lockdown has meant I’ve not dealt much with people I do not know, but it’s also meant investing more time in online relationships, which in turn raises questions about what it is meaningful to share. Who am I? What of that can I meaningfully offer?
Mostly online I share what I’m interested in, because I find that works and is a good basis for interacting with people. I’ve experimented a bit with sharing my face, and other photos of me – which has been positive as an experience, but feels odd.
I’ve realized that I prefer to know people through what I can do with them. At the moment my options are sorely limited on this score. But, I don’t think the best understanding of me is a story, or a set of assertions. I think it’s what can be known wordlessly by sharing the things I do. Sitting under the same tree. Wading into the same stream. Increasingly I don’t want to offer a narrative of who I am. This is complicated online because blogs and social media alike encourage us to do exactly that, to tell ourselves to other people as carefully constructed stories.
When I get online to tell a story about myself, I can engage hundreds, potentially thousands of people with that story. When encountering me means walking through a wood with me or sitting on a hillside, I can only offer that to a very few people. I have to be very selective. I can only be properly real on a very small scale. I think that’s true of all of us, but it’s easy to lose sight of. Who we really are is not the drama of our biggest stories, it’s the moment to moment detail, the precise way in which we approach life.
CrystalWind.ca is free to access and use.
Disclaimer
All post and information provided within this blog is for educational and informational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. No action should be taken solely on the contents of this website. Please consult with your healthcare professional before making any dietary or lifestyle changes or taking supplements that may interfere with medications. Any products or information discussed are not intended to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure any illness, disease or lifestyle. Please consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and wellbeing or on any opinions expressed within this website.
Spirit Animal Totem Of The Day!
Crystal Of The Day!
The Crystal Wind Oracle
Myth & Magic Card Deck!
Details Here!
NEW Expanded
Printed & Boxed!
Now with 58 cards!
CrystalWind.ca is free to use because of
donations from people like you.
Donate Now »
Latest Articles
Who is Online Now
We have 812 guests and no members online
Featured This Month
Strong Sun Moon
Flicker – Carnelian Agate – Wild Rose – Pink June 21 – July 22 The Strong ... Read more
Abalone Shell
Echos Of The Ancestors Abalone strengthens the structure of the body and th... Read more
Cancer Mythology
The Hidden Myth Behind the Zodiac Sign Had the Scriptures of Delphi never b... Read more
Birth Totem - Woodpecker
Birth Totem Woodpecker Birth dates: June 21 - July 21 Birth Totem is: Wood... Read more
Lugh - Celtic God Of The Sun
The god Lugh was worshiped in Ireland as a deity of the sun. This connection... Read more
Sun in Cancer
An Overview of Sun Sign Characteristics for Cancer The name derives from La... Read more
Lughnasadh (Lammas) - The Celtic Harvest Fes…
The Celtic harvest festival on August 1st takes its name from the Irish god ... Read more
Lammas by The Hedgewitch
Although in the heat of a Mid-western summer it might be difficult to discer... Read more
Lughnasadh Meditation
The Seventh Sabbat of the Wheel is Lughnasadh. Lughnasadh is celebrated on A... Read more
The Holly Tree: July 8th - August 4th
The Fire Festival Of Lammas Celtic Symbol : The Unicorn And The Flaming Spe... Read more
Chrysoprase
The Courage Stone The Greeks named this stone “golden bloom” due to the golde... Read more