What if you didn't have a name?

[Joe Faux]

Perhaps I've been working in the technical field too long.

Names are words used to identify people, places, or things. They are tools within a language to help us, as effectively and quickly as possible, communicate with one another. The words and structure of language were defined using the joint experiences of folks long gone now.

Acronyms are a good modern day example of our need to communicate quickly with as little effort as possible.

My name is used as a tool to immediately refer to my physical presence. It was defined by my parents, in cooperation with their own ego, as a way to refer to “the baby.” I continue to use this label because, by the time I grew aware I could change it, it had grown on me. Just as anyone of my other experiences, it has helped to shape me as a person. However, it cannot describe me any better than the cover of a book could describe it's contents.

If I were to describe my essence, I would use tools of language, to describe myself based upon as a series of facts, personal truths, and opinions. Others would use similar tools to describe me using their observations. (Most times, these two descriptions will hardly ever match which would cause its own problem in our need to communicate.)

(By the way, we hardly have the patience to refer to ourselves even if the name is too long. Mary Jane = MJ. Can you imagine the acronym to describe ourself?)

A bit off topic... are we even capable to fully comprehend our own essence? I've forgotten so much since conception... some of it must have been important.

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around “living in one's soul.” My brain has filtered this into, “strive to be aware of life's details.” Much like some books I've read, I'd just assume to refer to bits of life just by their name and get on with something new.