Day 2 - Who Are You?

Which do you prefer - reading or watching movies? 

I adore reading. I have done since I was a child. I get lost in books, travelling with the writers' characters to places which I am often awed they have dreamt into existence. I also love animated movies. Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" was one of my favourites. I think the Caterpillar is one of the reasons I adore words so much, and question the meaning of almost everything. 

Caterpillar: "Who are you? 

Alice: "I...I...I hardly know, Sir. I've changed so many times since this morning, you see." 

Caterpillar: "I do not see. Explain yourself."

Alice: I'm afraid I can't explain myself, Sir, because I'm not myself, you know.

Caterpillar: "I do not know."

Alice: "Well, I can't put it any more clearly for it isn't clear to me."

Caterpillar: "YOU! Who are you?"

Alice: "Well, don't you think you ought to tell me...who you are first?"

Caterpillar: "Why?"

Alice: "Oh dear. Everything is so confusing." 

Who Are You? 

This question has puzzled philosophers, psychologists and so-called gurus for centuries. Answer if for yourself there, before you keep reading.

(PAUSE FOR THINKING TIME - yes, I'm writing in the encouragement to pause. You'll get used to my little idiosyncrasies should you keep coming back to read.) 

Did you say things like: 

• I'm a mother / doctor / daughter / teacher / coach?
• I'm smart / ambitious / daring / brave / sensitive?
• I'm a reader / a lover / a runner / a triathlete / a podcaster?

Have you ever stopped to think that they are all "whats?" 

• What do you want to be when you grow up? 
  • A mother / doctor / teacher / coach / writer.
• What are three of your positive characteristics?
  • I'm smart / daring / sensitive. 
• What are your hobbies?
  • I read / fall in love / run / podcast. 

Oh dear. Everything is so confusing.

The Caterpillar and Alice do a dance of definitions, searching each other's characters for points of reference which they may link to their understanding of the world. That's why we attach character labels to the "who" question. It's getting old now, but we do all see the world through our own lens of experience. We understand people based on what we know of the world. We attach meaning to their labels, deciding how we feel about them based on that meaning. We can take our lenses off to wipe them, but the perspective is still the same when we put them back on - unless we take action to change it. 

Who am I? 

I'm writing the "Who Am I?" post today because I realise anyone finding this blog who's never come across me before will have no boxes to put me in, no way to connect me with their world.

The not so simple answer is - I am not an anything, yet I am a multitude of many things. 

I accept the labels: 

• Christine - my Great-grandmother's name, gifted to me at birth. 
• Mullaney - my father's family name, 14th Century Irish. 
• Woman - I have a vagina, breasts and no Adam's Apple (though I wasn't sure about that one for a while). 
• Irish - I'm fiercely proud of my Irishness. 

As for the rest - loving, compassionate, kind, caring, ambitious, hard-working, well-travelled, curious, excitable, sensitive, direct, patient, impatient, soulful, adventurous, intelligent, spiritual, daring, brave writer, singer, exerciser, speaker, podcaster, teacher, daughter, aunt, cousin, friend, cook, explorer...and all the other adjectives and nouns that make up my what - I am as changeable as the tides and as situations and audiences require. I have 'been' all of the women in the post's main image at some time in my life. I will 'be' many other women before my life has ended. 

Professionally, I take the labels teacher, coach and trainer, with a deep desire to wear the "published author" title. Explore the rest of the website to learn about how I help anyone who wants to do the work learn to speak from their seat of power - their solar plexus. 

Personally, I "am" whatever the person perceives in me. I will never intentionally aim for that to be a negative perception, but I am now well-lived enough to know everyone can't like me. It's taken a long time to adjust to that reality, having worked so hard on the "likeable to all" persona for much of my life. 

My name is Christine. I am not anything, yet I am a multitude of things. The most wonderful thing I've ever learned is that I get to choose what makes up my who. And so, dear reader, can you. I invite you therefore to share in a comment...

What makes up your who?