Self: The Power Within

The self is complex. The concept of self includes many parts working together to make up who we are in relation to ourselves, others, and how we show up in the world through our habits and ways of being. Depth psychologists such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung worked to offer up three parts of the self- the id, ego, and superego. While the theory behind interactions between the subconscious and conscious parts of who we are may have varied between the two, suffice it to say that the self is dynamic and ever-changing. Many others since Freud and Jung continue to offer perspective on the compound nature of who we are.

I remember in my third year as a classroom teacher, sitting in an overly packed classroom with all of my colleagues after an exhausting day of teaching; and the principal stating, "as teachers, we need to learn how to leave our stuff at the door!" Upon hearing this, it seemed significant though it took me a great deal of contemplation to learn what this meant, and even more time to embody it. Or at least my interpretation. On the surface, the statement was simple enough- refrain from telling students the fact that my phone bill was past due, or that my roommate had left the kitchen a complete mess that morning and disrupted my plans to make a quick breakfast. However, over time I learned that this statement has deeper implications when taking into consideration the energetics associated with our everyday lives and emotions.

A metaphor that I like to think of when analyzing the self is that of an orchestra. Each section of instruments make up a part of the entire orchestra. Every section requires tuning in order to produce beautiful music. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to a violin being out of tune from moment to moment- including temperature of the room, pressure applied to the strings, or angle of the stroke of the bow. Similarly, our values, personality, socio-political identity, strengths and aptitudes, and psyche are all component parts of the orchestra that make us who we are and are impacted by factors seen and unseen. The same is true for the implications of being "out of tune".

Here's the invitation: contemplate each of the aspects of self proposed above and allow the light of awareness to shine on each one. You could journal about it, talk to a colleague/co-teacher, or even create your own mind map if that's helpful for you.

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