You are not your role. You are not your mood. You are not your story. This piece explores the overlooked capacity to move identity itself and what becomes possible when you do.
This all is breaking open something new in me. “I am”. I’ve been thinking a lot about your previous article about being careful about what we identify ourselves with, as in saying I AM sad as opposed to saying I am FEELING sad. It seems like such a little thing but it’s huge, at least for me.
TI have counseled a loved one before to be careful about saying “I AM an addict (whatever it might be)” and instead say “I have a problem, or I struggle with an addiction”. Yes, it’s important to be honest with yourself and others about a serious problem in order to recover but saying I AM that addiction is simply not true - that addiction does not DEFINE who you ARE. And saying so, it seemed to me, had the potential not to set him free but rather to condemn him to dragging that ball and chain with him for the rest of his life.
I personally have been diagnosed with diabetes but I’ve tried to walk softly with saying I AM a diabetic because I don’t want my disease to define the Me that is Me - especially in my own mind. But, if I’m correct, you are suggesting I need to consider this more deeply and in a much broader way - for instance, I also struggle with depression but I need to know and embrace the truth that depression is NOT who I AM. You said something like rather than saying I AM sad, it might be healthier to say I am FEELING sad.
It may not seem like that big of a deal but, for me, it’s important to know that feeling sad is not the same as BEING sad. I am reminded how important words are - I feel like I’ve unknowingly been psychologically and spiritually keeping myself in chains.
This teaching today really helps. The last day or so I’ve been trying to be aware of my thinking and correct my hurtful thoughts about and towards myself. This breathing exercise will help to simply affirm “I am”. It helps me go a step further in relaxing and letting go and giving myself permission to stop trying to get into the room I’m already in. I don’t know if that makes sense but it is a huge, freeing revelation for me. 😌🙏Deep, deep breath of relief. Again. Thank you.
This touched something very quietly.
Not trying to redefine who we are, only inviting us to stand a little differently in what we already are.
That gentleness, that ease, feels very true.
Many thanks, Brother Aleks, now I feel like I can handle any chaos!🕉️
Thank you for pointing to Helminskis book, VMB. I'm studying it now, perf. for these wintering months.
Love it!
This is a beautiful practice. It reminds me of Exodus 3:14, where God tells Moses, I am who I am. Jesus used similar sayings.
This all is breaking open something new in me. “I am”. I’ve been thinking a lot about your previous article about being careful about what we identify ourselves with, as in saying I AM sad as opposed to saying I am FEELING sad. It seems like such a little thing but it’s huge, at least for me.
TI have counseled a loved one before to be careful about saying “I AM an addict (whatever it might be)” and instead say “I have a problem, or I struggle with an addiction”. Yes, it’s important to be honest with yourself and others about a serious problem in order to recover but saying I AM that addiction is simply not true - that addiction does not DEFINE who you ARE. And saying so, it seemed to me, had the potential not to set him free but rather to condemn him to dragging that ball and chain with him for the rest of his life.
I personally have been diagnosed with diabetes but I’ve tried to walk softly with saying I AM a diabetic because I don’t want my disease to define the Me that is Me - especially in my own mind. But, if I’m correct, you are suggesting I need to consider this more deeply and in a much broader way - for instance, I also struggle with depression but I need to know and embrace the truth that depression is NOT who I AM. You said something like rather than saying I AM sad, it might be healthier to say I am FEELING sad.
It may not seem like that big of a deal but, for me, it’s important to know that feeling sad is not the same as BEING sad. I am reminded how important words are - I feel like I’ve unknowingly been psychologically and spiritually keeping myself in chains.
This teaching today really helps. The last day or so I’ve been trying to be aware of my thinking and correct my hurtful thoughts about and towards myself. This breathing exercise will help to simply affirm “I am”. It helps me go a step further in relaxing and letting go and giving myself permission to stop trying to get into the room I’m already in. I don’t know if that makes sense but it is a huge, freeing revelation for me. 😌🙏Deep, deep breath of relief. Again. Thank you.