Costumes and Identity

Available for 29 days

Good Morning. I’m starting now to think about a “Spring clean” which usually involves much deliberation of what outfits to keep in my wardrobe and what goes to the charity shop. At the same time, I’ve come across a number of verses from Guru Arjun in the Sikh scripture, that speaks about “costumes.” One includes: “People disguise themselves with all sorts of costumes but in the end, they are seen as they truly are.” My wardrobe has gone through the influence of singers and bands I loved in my teens, such as Siouxsie & the Banshees, the chic style of 1940s movies I loved in my 20s, the incredible creativity and tailoring by designers like Vivienne Westwood & Shelley Fox in my early 30s… until I became a Sikh when my dress changed again and is part of my role as a Chaplain. But the Guru is calling me to consider the stories we tell ourselves and others, shaping our beliefs and self image, that can be tied into attachments of the past, like the costumes still hanging in my wardrobe I may want to hold onto because my sense of self has been over-invested in them. So before I do my wardrobe cull, I’m reflecting on how to re-balance my sense of who I am, to recognise that my life experience involves many roles and duties, but ultimately, the true essence of my being that was there in my naked form as a baby, will be the same essence when I lie naked at the end of my life. Dear God, may I free myself of past identifications and roles that have served their purpose. Please remind me to stay attached and invested in my spiritual identity and for the true nature of this to be the more consistent influence of how I continue to know and present myself in the world more truly. Sat Naam