We’re often known to others by the roles we occupy. Even our close friends and family members identify us, if only partly, with the roles we step into. The various “hats we wear” let people know a great deal about us. Our roles can both define us and create some boundaries for determining what is not us.
When we no longer have our primary roles to tell us and others some of who we are and what we’re up to, there’s a bit of a vacuum created. And we all know how nature feels about a vacuum! Others will want us to step into roles that we may or may not want to fill. The spaciousness we experience in the absence of our previously dominant role might feel too empty for us. There can be roles we want to run away from as fast as possible but our peeps are unwilling to let us do so.
We are always vastly more than any role we temporarily inhabit.
What roles do your loved ones hope you’ll move into now? What roles are you happy to be leaving behind? What roles are you yearning to explore? Who are you becoming without your primary work role?
