Re-Identify
Identity seems to be on a lot of people’s minds these days – tell me who are you? and then who am I? I know that has been my critical path the past 18 months – who am I? who do I want to be? And then began the full make over – cut the hair, give up the past vision, expand the new, stretch the boundaries – there are a lot of growing pains associated with changing your identity – let me tell you.
So it was interesting to read about a book published about post black identity – even groups are trying to figure their own collective identity. The book is called Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? And it looks to be a good read, thoughtful and expansive. Meanwhile, Thomas Friedman wrote in the NYT this Sunday about the identity of Israel and perhaps it needs to be overhauled. That of course, led me to a video of Jews trying to come to terms with their Zionist identity, also worth a watch.
The Jewish High Holidays are approaching, the eve of Rosh Hashana begins this week at sun down on Wednesday, September 28, it is the year 5772. This year I have two changes to my agenda. First, I bought a shofar while in San Francisco at the Jewish Museum and plan to blow my own to start Yom Kippur. Second, I’ve decided that my entry into my Yom Kippur journal will begin with all that I’ve accomplished in the last year and will be a blueprint for the process (rather than the goals) I intend to follow for the coming year.
Shape shifting is the new trend. Identity makeovers, identity searching like the vision quests of Peruvian children, identity juggling as in our multiple personas we inhabit on the web. Here’s our new call to arms – re-identify. Check in and see if the identity you have assumed is actually serving you anymore and do what you will to allow change.