Anam Nostos House Blog

"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?

Love isn't reserved for just people we know deeply.

Look around you; there are countless people who are alone.
People who come from brokenness.
People who have lost their way.
People who have been tossed aside.

We have love in our hearts for friends, for family members and for our pets. What if we extended that love outwards more often? It is amazing to me what can be achieved with kindness; a simple act of loving can carry someone through the darkest storm.

Today as you are walking through your day, look more closely at the world around you. Who will you encounter that needs loving?

Where in your day do you see the need for love?

Do you consider yourself strong?

This could be seen in diverse ways from physical to emotional. I am asking you to go deeper into its meaning and ask yourself this hard question.

There is a big misconception of our own capabilities in emotions. The truth is we all have strength within us that we access most times without even recognizing it. Strength can look like a variety of situations. Strength can feel like challenges. Strength can be an immensely powerful and empowering emotion or action in one's life, if you allow yourself to acknowledge it.

Today, I simply want you to reflect on how you see strength in your life; how strength has shown up for you. If there are instances where you wanted strength to show itself more, ask yourself why you held back. If there are places in your life you want to embrace strength today, ask how you can empower yourself to embrace it.

Strength is going to show itself different to each person. Today, just look at it in your own journey. As the days go by, access the courage to add strength into your life to lift you up.