Identity Crisis?

My hair is purple, right in the front. It’s been blonde, even red, but purple…it’s kind of my thing. It’s fun. I get compliments on it all the time.

People ask me questions about it, too. Is it permanent? (Yes.) Do you do it yourself? (Heck no.) Does your husband like it? (Yes.) Is it expensive to maintain? (Unfortunately.) Are you going to keep it like that forever? (Who knows?!)

I took the purple out and went pretty much red/blonde, and the world spiraled into chaos. I got shocked looks, mouths agape, audible gasps.

Is “purple”who I am? Part of my identity?

No. But maybe.

Of course, the real me is not a hairstyle or color. It’s my heart, my personality, my soul. It’s what I know, my talents, my quirks.

Our passions, our experiences, our education. Where we’ve been, what we’ve learned, who we’ve been influenced, how we show empathy and compassion. THOSE THINGS make us who we are.

We think we know who we are, right? We’ve put ourselves in a box our two, labeled our idiosyncrasies, identified our issues, picked our colors.

Other things people say…I could never color my hair a crazy color! (Why?) I’ve always wanted a blue streak, but I’m to old. (What?!) My kids/hubs/mom would die if I got a streak. (I bet they’d live.)

After some experimentation, my color is definitely purple. It truly has become a part of who I am, my look anyway. I’m ok with that. I love my purple.

But changing it a few times made me think… maybe we SHOULD take a look at who we are and loosen our sense of identity a little.

Who we THINK we are and how we’ve labeled ourselves can both become crutches, excuses, cop outs.

“I’m shy.” You’ve given yourself permission to pull back, not advance, be hesitant to engage.

“I’m the fat mom.” You’ve resigned yourself to that role and “struggle” with losing weight.

“I need to be [insert way you need to be here] to fit in with my friends and family.” Pleasing people has become more important to you than being your authentic self.

Are we self aware enough to have even evaluated who we are? Are we so rigid in our beliefs about who we are that there is no room for growth or improvement? Is it possible for us to loosen our sense of identity and give ourselves an opportunity to find out who we really are?

There’s you some food for thought for the day. The world is so messed up right now, I think the least we could do is pay less attention to who the world says we should be and more attention to our own sense of identity and how we can grow.

Social media, so-called trends and fads, political parties, even our own family and friends, tell us who we should be. Loosen up your sense of identity, search your heart, be YOU.

Maybe go purple. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Find you, and be you.