Get Yourself Free by Mo Perry - The Unfurling

Mo Perry on keeping your identity small. Non-identification.

It seems worth noting that all the major spiritual traditions emphasize transcending a focus on the self or the ego. The Buddhist notion of samsara means, essentially, attachment to the illusion of a separate self, and the suffering it creates. The whole goal is to break free, leave the illusion of a self behind.

Meanwhile, our culture is doubling down, growing increasingly obsessed with figuring out and labeling one’s “identity,” as if it’s a fixed entity, something real, solid, immutable, and true. Mental and emotional health are predictably spiraling in tandem with this trend.

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Life will present plenty of boxes into which you’ll be invited to cram yourself. The label-maker will always be perilously close at hand. Resist it as much and as long as you can.

Deep stuff, and a topic I find very interesting. I love the label-maker reference.