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February 02, 2005
Identity and Integration
Mary wrote yesterday about Evelyn Rodriguez. One of the passages Mary quoted from Evelyn contained the phrase "an individual's digital identity." I began to wonder if one developed one's "digital identity" would one also have to develop one's "analog identity?" And if so, how might they compare? And might there be other identities one would develop or create?
Dictionary.com defines identity as
The collective aspect of the set of characteristics by which a thing is definitively recognizable or known.
So, I guess one would need to develop as many identities as one would need to be "definitively recognizable or known" in each domain of one's life. When I was younger, I made myself definitively recognizable by differentiating myself from others who were in the same domain. As I've gotten older, I've tended toward integrating all aspects of myself and to showing up as a whole person in all domains. Sometimes it's easier than others to show up as a whole; and I hope that over time my being my whole, integrated self (warts, shadow-side, and all!) is how I will be definitively recognized and known.
Posted by Kerry at February 2, 2005 09:34 PM