Reflection for the Week - July 17

For a long time now I have struggled with questions of selfhood and identity. There has been so much blurring and blending edges together that viable relationality seems harder and harder to come by. Truth be told, this is my next big project after publishing, Living Imagination. My provisional thoughts are moving in this direction. I wager that at least four sources have to be in dialogue for a better picture of who a self is and what makes me who I am. First, a theological point of view is crucial. Acknowledging the problematic of trust and suspicion marks out the landscape and confirms that I need wisdom in discerning appropriate configurations. Second, my own perspective is indispensable. There is no legitimate way that I can remove or entirely ignore myself, as my view plays a role concerning whether I’m trustworthy or deceived. Envisioning myself in some way or another is part of being human. Third, the responsible other’s outlook is vital. People who know me have a say so as to who I am and can present a challenge to my own pretensions, be they positive or negative. Fourth, the natural world is essential. I can often take nature for granted, but when I do so and get it wrong, I usually end up having to comply. Nature is bigger than I am. When these four relationality ties interact, I should be able to start to formulate a healthier notion of selfhood and identity, which begins to make sense and thus becomes fitting for a truer embrace of who I am.