Identity

I have babysat for somewhere in the ballpark of 18 years...but I have never considered myself a babysitter. I have never really associated myself with any label which could have technically fit. I learned, but I am not a student; I taught, but I'm not a teacher; I take photos, I'm not a photographer; I dance, but I'm not a dancer...

Because of this I always sort of assumed I lived my life with some sort of lack. That perhaps I was missing something by not fitting myself more clearly into some shape or another.

I heard a reflection today which expressed the idea that when we attach ourselves strongly to a certain identity, it is only a matter of time before it is no longer available to us and we go through an "identity crisis". For instance, if you are a spouse, what happens when your "other half" passes on? If you are a business person, what happens if your business crashes? Does it change the essence of who YOU are?

Aren't we the same as we have always been? We grow... the surface gets more polished and refined, but the core of you has been and always will be. Call it whatever you want, but don't just hand that away when you change careers or life somehow happens. YOU already are. There is no reinventing that ;)