{"id":3395,"date":"2024-03-04T01:08:54","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T01:08:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/?p=3395"},"modified":"2024-03-04T01:25:14","modified_gmt":"2024-03-04T01:25:14","slug":"ser-o-no-ser","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/binarywords.com\/en\/2024\/03\/04\/ser-o-no-ser\/","title":{"rendered":"To be or not to be"},"content":{"rendered":"

No, this article is not about William Shakespeare, although I may end up writing about him someday...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todays article is about that question we all ask ourselves (or should) at some point in our lives, and which, depending on the circumstances, can be either really easy or really difficult to answer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who are you?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u00b4ve mentioned before in this blog that each person is like an iceberg<\/strong>; this metaphor is often used to explain the neurological levels model created by Robert Dilts, which I briefly describe in this article<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u00b4s at one of the deepest levels, deep down the iceberg, where we find the concept of identity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who we are. Or who we believe to be<\/strong>, just like the title of that TV programme (an excellent one, by the way) where different celebrities traced the steps of their ancestors: Who do you think you are?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is that this topic of identity is quite complex. Or I should say identities<\/strong>, plural, because we don\u00b4t have only one, we have many, and some of them change over time.<\/strong> For example: I am Beatriz, I\u00b4m Galindo and I\u00b4m Garc\u00eda. I\u00b4m BinaryBea, female, forty-something, European, Spanish, Extremaduran (from the Extremadura region), from C\u00e1ceres (no translation for \"cacere\u00f1a\"!), expat, Spaniard<\/em> in Ireland, Dublin based, computer engineer, coach, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, friend, workmate, classmate, neighbour, student, homeowner, divorcee, reader, blogger... And so on and so forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you can see, some identities may contain others, overlap with them, or even contradict them<\/strong>, which can originate situations of internal conflict, existential dilemmas and self sabotage. It can also happen that, when one of those identities changes or disappears, we find ourselves lost and disorientated<\/strong>, like for example, going through a divorce or being laid off: if I can no longer define myself as X person\u00b4s spouse \/ Y company\u00b4s employee \/ you name it, then, who am I? It\u00b4s as if our chair had become wobbly, having lost one of its supporting legs, and we need to invest time and effort in stabilizing it again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of this is on my mind today because last Friday I heard a beautiful poem from Erin Hanson, entitled: Not<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You are not your age, nor the size of clothes you wear,
You are not a weight, or the color of your hair.
You are not your name, or the dimples in your cheeks.
You are all the books you read, and all the words you speak.
You are your croaky morning voice, and the smiles you try to hide.
You\u2019re the sweetness in your laughter, and every tear you\u2019ve cried.
You\u2019re the songs you sing so loudly when you know you\u2019re all alone.
You\u2019re the places that you\u2019ve been to, and the one that you call home.
You\u2019re the things that you believe in, and the people whom you love.
You\u2019re the photos in your bedroom, and the future you dream of.
You\u2019re made of so much beauty, but it seems that you forgot
When you decided that you were defined by all the things you\u2019re not.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And the following day, on Saturday, the Universe played this song for me on the radio, to follow along with the theme: The Logical Song<\/em>by Supertramp - here it is with subtitles in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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