Different selves

[Susan Hosken]

Dear friends,
Like all of us I have different selves. I have the part of me that loves traveling and adventures and the part of me that likes to stay home. Part of me is creative while part of me likes to sit and be quiet and still. Part of me likes exercise while part of me doesn't want to do it.
At times I am in conflict with my different aspects. How do you reconcile the different parts of yourself? WHich part of you wins out? Who loses? Why?
lots of love from susan in australia

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

This is an interesting topic, Susan. I think I have the most conflict between my enthusiastic self and my lazy self! My enthusiastic self is happier, and when she is in charge, a lot gets done :) My lazy self sometimes takes charge for days, though, especially on the week ends. I suppose we need to try and understand all of our selves, accept them with love, try not to judge, and not worry much about winners and losers :)

[Susan Hosken]

Barbara, I am rarely lazy but i certainly avoid doing things and do something else instead. My busy self tends to get a lot more time than my quieter sedentary self who likes to sit and be quiet.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Anne Westlund]

Hi Susan, my different selves are so different from each other I might as well be 10 or more different people. Like today I'm my do nothing much self and other days I'm my get a million things done self. I just try to accept who I am at the moment, I don't know any other way to reconcile my different selves. Great topic! Will add more later.

[Susan Hosken]

Anne, Thanks for replying. I hope you got my letter by the way.
I challenge my different selves. I have trouble traveling far from home as I get anxious but I encourage myself to do it which scares my stay at home self. The traveling self loves all the new adventures.
lots of love from susan in australia

[DJ]

Susan, this is a great discussion topic, since so many creatives struggle with finding time to create among the other roles they fulfill in nurturing family or in undertaking their day job.
The artist DJ has to keep searching for an hour here or there to make art, amongst the other "DJ's" that feed, teach, launder, counsel, scrub, drive, read, answer, attend, research, etc. I find that if I try to put these different entities in time-constrained schedules, something will inevitably interrupt that nicely blocked-out schedule, LIFE will happen, and it lets me know I'm not really in charge.
Also, the MOODS take over...one day, I'm content to sit on my back step studying green leaves rustling in the breeze, and the next day I'm excitedly working out a new painting curriculum for my students. One day, I'm jumping into housework and organizing everything in sight; the next day, I'm quietly surfing blogs on my computer. I'm finding I have one high energy day, then one low energy day in which I recuperate from all of the former activity. :-)

[Susan Hosken]

DJ, thanks for responding to the discussion I started. I was most interested in what you had to say. My life is very similar.
lots of love from susan in australia

[Ang Monsoon]

Good question! I think we reconcile our different selves by meditating/looking at ourselves completely honestly. I've identified part of me that is very well organised &a controlling. She's the breadwinner. But she has to be stood up to during "creative time" when the "inner-child" comes out to play. Bossy Boots tries to capture the spirit & harness it. The inner child runs and hides when bossy boots turns up. She's fed up of that one showing up with her scissors when she scents a poem setting. My inner child is a sensitive creature, who finds agendas boring. When I've been creative and I look in the mirror afterwards I feel I see the the truth within me. The sensitive one is growing strong, with your help. Bossy boots has plenty of time to be herself and so must the sensitive side of me. Bossy boots hasn't a clue about creating & just ruins things. My peaceful side is the one who can take me places & show me amazing things/dreams... We have to harmonise like wind & windmill I guess.

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

Bossy Boots :) heh!

[Susan Hosken]

Angie, I loved what you had to share. i love reading about other peoples different selves and how they reconcile them.
lots of love from susan in australia

[WildCherry]

I totally identify with your theme Susan. I have a note on my noticeboard - which was a reminder for a collage topic - it says, "The Split Me: Light (white woman) / Dark (black woman). I didn't mean to infer any racist conotations with these definitions rather it refers to something like this painting by Frida Kahlo

[DJ]

Interesting, WildC. I don't remember this Kahlo.
The roots must have been important in her schema of symbols in this one, along with the gnarled tree branches intertwining with vines.
So many of her compositions evoked loneliness. I wonder if today's doctors could have treated her so that she would have been mobile/active/healthier sooner and how that would have impacted her art?

[Barbara Ann Storrier]

I like the monkey :)