Letters to My Granddaughter #3 — The Calling

OK granddaughter, so I told you I’d tell you what I’m called to do. How do I put this into words?

My mind is a beautiful thing. If you’ve ever seen the movie, A Beautiful Mind, it’s kind of like that. I’m a dot connector. But, like I said before, I’m not crazy. I see how things are interconnected in ways that few others see.

Some of you here on this platform see what I see. I’m grateful for what you do. It gives me strength.

“Whatever, Lydia. What does that have to do with your purpose?”

Everything. I guess you could say I’m a truth-teller. I’m here to tell the truth of what I see. I’m here to see — and to help you see — through the great deception that was and is the human story. AKA the version of history, society, and culture imprinted into our minds from the day we’re born. I’m here to sort the truth from the lies. To call BS on the limited world view taught to us growing up and in schools and through our media channels today.

I promised you evidence. Let’s get started.

First, I want to ask you to consider a possibility. A possibility that might change your life, if it hasn’t already.

Consider the possibility that you are a spirit here to have a human experience. Yes, if you’re lucky, you’ll go to school. You might farm or fish or hunt or forage, own businesses or get jobs or have a career. You’ll live in homes or apartments or vans or huts other types of shelter. You’ll have children, family, friends, a community. You’ll probably participate in our consumer society. But that’s all part of the human experience.

Your life experience and your social roles are not your identity. You came here as a spirit and you’ll leave as a spirit. That’s who you are. That’s your true identity.

How much of your current experience as a human reinforces your identity as a spiritual being?

Here’s what I see. Human society and culture was and is intentionally designed to teach us to identify with anything other than our spirit as our true identity. There are many different ways that we’re taught or encouraged to adopt identities that are defined for us. There are also concerted efforts to disrupt people’s historical identities and to align them with new definitions. You can be whoever you want now! As long as you choose from the choices defined for you.

Before I share a few examples, offense alert! It’s guaranteed I’m going to offend someone in the next few paragraphs. If that happens to you, see my previous article about polarization. Are you allowing my media to polarize you?

Identity construct #1 — Sexuality

Might as well start off with the topic that has the highest risk of offense.

We humans feel strongly about our sexual identities. I know I do. Many of us feel empowered by or ashamed of our sexuality. We feel entitled to fair treatment and recognition and equal rights regardless of our sexual orientation or behaviors.

Trauma resulting from sexual abuse and exploitation is a common undercurrent in society. Many of us feel persecuted or unprotected from societal biases and bad actors.

Look, I’m not intending to discount any of this. I’ve experienced abuse, stereotyping, inequality, and the denial of basic rights and recognition because of the body my spirit lives in. It hurt. It hasn’t been easy to get over it.

BUT… here’s what I’ve learned. As soon as I identify with my experience, I’m defined by it. My mind is trapped and options in life become limited. If I’m a spirit having a human experience, I have the experience, I deal with it, and move on.

Identity construct #2 — Relationships

Human relationships express in many different ways, from social, to professional, to religious, to intimate.

We humans tend to feel validated by our relationships. I know I do. Many of us feel the need to belong fulfilled. We feel we’re not alone and we take solace in knowing that others think, feel, and believe like we do.

Trauma resulting from dysfunctional, addictive, psychopathic, and violent relationships is another common undercurrent in society. Many of us feel addiction-enabled, damaged, or trapped by partners and groups who do not have our best interests in mind.

Yes, I can related to all of this. I’ve experienced every type of relationship dysfunction known to humanity. I’m not sure how I did it, but somehow I escaped it all in one piece.

I’ve found no faster way to undermine my true identity and compromise my life’s purpose than to identify with a relationship, especially a romantic partnership or an idealistic group. I’m my own being in a woman’s body. I only enter into relationships that I know to be divinely correct.

Identity construct #3 — Dreams

The romantic notion of living your dream and achieving success, wealth, and greatness doing it is a cornerstone of modern-day media.

We celebrate people like NFL quarterbacks and Hollywood celebrities. Everyone says you can do it too! We build universities and colleges, training camps and expensive online learning programs, to show you how. No one bothers to tell you there are maybe one hundred NFL quarterback jobs total in the NFL, or several hundred Hollywood writers who write all the movies, or 1400 bankable movie actors worldwide. You get the drift.

Rarely does anyone account for the trauma that results from committing oneself to a fantasy dream that was sold to you when you were young, that you devote countless hours and dollars to, only to discover in the end it was never yours to do. You have another calling.

I’ve been there. I know how much it hurts. Thankfully, I experienced my divine awakening in my twenties. I woke up before I had wasted too much of my life chasing an imprinted dream.

The media dream machine is designed to trick you into identifying with its dream lives. If you know in every fiber of your being that becoming an NFL quarterback or something like that is your destiny, go for it. Otherwise, listen to your spirit. It will guide you to the life that’s right for you.

Identity construct #4 — Work

Since only a select few get to live the dream lives we’re all sold, what are the rest of us to do? Get a job. Build a career. Start a business. You gotta make money to buy all the stuff they’re selling you.

Work is celebrated as the primary way to succeed where I live. Get a good job, buy a house and a car and take trips and eat good food. Consume.

Work is traumatic for most people. They either don’t like or downright hate what they do. Most jobs don’t pay enough to provide any of the benefits described. Nowadays, even if you have two jobs or more, you’re lucky if you manage to get enough to eat and avoid homelessness.

Since I grew up in and still live in the USA, I doubt I can fully appreciate the experience of humans living in other countries. So I ask your tolerance if I’m not giving your life experience the respect it deserves. I dare say, however, that work as a way of life is part of the global narrative. And insufficient or poorly compensated work is a cause for a great deal of human suffering.

Most jobs are designed to enslave you. There’s nothing wrong with having a job, but for god’s sake, don’t identify yourself by it. Jobs can be taken away from you at any time. Your spirit cannot.

Identity construct #5 — Geography

Historically, humans identified with where their ancestors came from and where they lived. Where we were from was a very important aspect of our identity.

While I’d say this one is under attack by the global narrative, people continue to deeply identify with the places their families were from, where they were born, and the places they live. We have city, state, provincial, and national identities. Sport teams and company identities tied to places.

We’re beginning to see the trauma inflicted on people when the places they’ve identified with come under attack. We’re also seeing the ancestral trauma that many of us carry, as a result of past wars and invasions where they lost the place they identified with.

I can’t really related to this one. I’ve yet to find a place on Earth that felt like it was my place. I’m not from here. There’s no place I’ve ever identified with.

If you feel this one, I feel for you. I see what a big impact it’s had on humanity. And, once again, remember you’re a spirit having a human experience. Your place is one of those experiences.

There you have it. This may not be the evidence you were expecting. Those of you in my time, feel free to call me out in the comments.

Granddaughter, in the letter that follows, I’m going to share more about the trauma of living in my time… the trauma that’s likely been passed down to you.

Lydia Taylor is a fictional character from a forthcoming novel series by Author Jeffrey Griffith.