3 Minute Retreat - Identity vs Biography (Take Two)

One of many vision boards over the decades.

"Your identity is not equivalent to your biography. There is a place in you where you have neve been wounded...where there's a seamlessness in you, and where there is a confidence and tranquility in you." - John O'Donohue

Identity is a person's sense of self, which is established by their unique characteristics; a sense of defining presence on their journey. 

A biography is a detailed description of a person's life.

I think we often mistake our biography and where we came from as our identity. I have walked a very bumpy road through life thus far. For a long time I thought my biography defined me. I came to see that my biography were blessings and lessons learned along the way. But, my identity is the person I became on the other side of the story. When I began to embrace my identity, I was able to release parts of my biography that no longer served me.

Do you put all of your weight and definition in the people who you come from or are related to?
Do you find yourself re-living every moment of your life where the wounds were great?

How can you release yourself from the biography that no longer defines you and embrace the identity you have created in the life hurdles you have overcome?