The Ego is Not Going to Like Me Saying This Out Loud

As David and I were driving home from a lovely Christmas with our daughter, her husband and their soon-to-be-born fetus, we heard an interview with RuPaul Andre Charles, "actor, model, singer, songwriter, television personality, author and the most successful drag queen of all time."   The show was a repeat from October 22, and the interviewer was Meghna Chakrabarti, on her PBS program "On Point." 

RuPaul was truly inspiring, as he talked openly about his traumatic childhood and his overcoming not only his trauma but even more importantly, his discovery of how to live fully in the midst of discrimination of all kinds.  He was actually kind of Zen, in his clear seeing through our human attachments to narratives, usually bestowed on us by others, that we cling to as if they were some strange sort of comfort in this crazy world. 

Talking about his abandonment by his father at an early age, and his continual recreation of the story of being left behind and left out through his childhood and early life:  "If [I] create an identity around being victimized, my ego will continue to look for situations to strengthen that identity so that I know where I stand. ...[T]he problem isn't what the world is doing to me...In fact, it sounds weird, and the ego is not going to like me saying this out loud...I sought out situations that reconfirmed the identity I created."

As a drag queen, he created his own identity, one that has liberated him to be free and enjoy his unfolding identity moment-by-moment.  And so may we all.