Identity

Identity is one of those issues which is far reaching. It came up at one of the Philosophical Salons recently and has been an ongoing point of dialogue  ever since...

One person's thoughts were that mostly identity is seen through what one does for a living...a doctor, housewife, teacher, secretary .... within which comes attachments of success, failure etc  Another through their relationships with others ... a mother, sister, grandfather ... There is gender identity, national identity, identity through fashion statements, appearances, age identity like...I am middle aged...they are an elderly person ....  and then there is health identity - like  'he has cancer'..'she is a health freak' etc and on and on....even down to what football team one supports!

And all of these perhaps have a bearing on how we view ourselves. Perhaps the most important aspect is how that identity or self view affects our well being and sense of self worth - does it liberate us into being more ourselves or begin to box or diminish our possibility. This is where it ceases to be a 'philosophical' concept  and becomes an intrinsically important part of living a progressive and satisfying life.

It was interesting too to hear more personal reflections as to what had become the most significant aspect to us as individuals...for example one lady felt that it was to do with the quality of her relations with others...this for her was the most significant aspect of her own identity  ....and another felt it was to do with what qualities she grew in herself .. like to what degree her life was part of the growth of kindness, compassion and humanity in the world.