Thursday, May 05, 2011

Who are YOU?

IDENTITY THEFT & SELF AWARENESS


I'd like to start a conversation; with a question. What is it that defines us? 
For some it's work, faith, community, and so on. I'm not so much interested in the the "right" answer 
as I am in digging into the honest tension of identity. 

For those of you who are believers, that is you maintain some level of personal relationship with God. I'd like to take the conversation just a bit deeper and ask. 

1. What is your view of your spiritual identity and how did you arrive there?
2. what makes up the you underneath

There are lots of tools out there like "love languages", "strengths finders", core values, spiritual gifts, and others. Have you found any of these helpful, and in what ways?  Maybe you have a story of a moment when your identity became solidified in a tangible way. A mission trip that changed you or a family tragedy. 

Maybe your not a believer in the evangelical sense. What is it that drives you, motivates you, gives you purpose? 
My interest is not in debate, but rather in honest dialogue. My curiosity is in the human spirit and what brings it to life. What does the journey look like, what is the arc of the narrative of personal development? How self aware are you and why? 
What are the thieves of substance that rob us of who we are and who we are designed to be? 

J. 

1 comment:

Debbie Flack said...

I have found that who I am is linked pretty closely with my gifts and talents. I feel most alive when I am using my unique qualities to another's benefit.

I found programs like personality tests and spiritual gifts finding exercises to mostly confirm what my personality and talents are, and solidify how they might be useful in God's kingdom.

For me, the thieves of my future and present best are partly my own qualities and faults of my personality, ironically. Perfectionism can paralyze me with feelings of inadequacy or inaction from feeling overwhelmed by too large a task.

Deb Flack