This concept of an alter ego has been appearing in my travels.
First it appeared in a thread on a workshop forum. One of the wonderful ladies in the workshop shared her alter ego. She’s a talented poet and I absolutely LOVED her name. (Maybe she’ll grace us with her presence in the comments)
Then it appeared again in my horoscope for the week:
“Modest and chic, you tend towards the understated, but this full moon prods you out of your shell. Let your secret wild side emerge in the spirit of legendary Capricorn David Bowie and his alter ego Ziggy Stardust. Embrace the summer’s neon pink trend and rock it like it was your sign’s signature neutral hue.”
I’ve always been a little turned off by the idea of the alter ego. It seemed like people trying to be something they’re not. And that felt fake.
I hate fake.
But the more I think about, the more I realize that if you it feels good and right, then it’s not fake. It’s a real part of us.
We tend to use all the stuff we’ve experienced to make up the person we’re being. A lot of it we picked up when we were kids and have gotten so used to it, it’s become the normal us. That me has some pretty solid ideas of what I can and can’t do. What I am and am not. Sometimes those are limitations, sometimes they’re pieces of my personality that I like.
But being someone other than who I normally am is kind of scary. It would be so much easier if someone came along and was all “I give you permission. Let’s get CRAZY!”
Having an alter ego seems like that person – a short cut to funneling out a hidden part of me that doesn’t include any of my self-imposed bullshit. It sounds awesome and I’m intrigued.
I’m summoning you, alter ego… who are you? Let’s hang out.
Do you have an alter ego? Tell me who she (or he) is and how you two met!
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