Twenty-five years ago my older sister suggested it was time to drop my childhood nickname, "Chip." She sent me a hilarious New Yorker cartoon in which a woman actually says to an elderly man: "Aren't you a little old to be called Chip?"
Since then, I have used Erie, my given name. It still feels awkward. "Chip" is the enthusiastic kid I always liked. "Erie" is the adult who has sometimes made harsh decisions. I don't always like that fellow.
In fact, as the photograph symbolizes, many identities live within.
Do you remember the first time you formed your name on paper? Now, you have a signature in this world. If you have changed, is it time to re-identify yourself?
Nuns receive new names. Many women adopt another name at marriage. Most movie stars & many authors change their names & birth a new stage in their lives.
Titles are a kind of name. I became so identified as a CEO that when I no longer was one I faced a crisis of self-worth.
Eight years ago I took a second name as a film artist, initially as protection from conservative employers finding my art objectionable. Now, I see it as naming who I am - an artist who does healthcare work rather than the reverse.
One performing artist friend says she sees her pen name as a new autograph for her heart. "I'm not the same person. Using my chosen name affirms who I have become. Sometimes, my old name pulls me backward."
At Christmas we honor one whose name thrills light into billions of hearts. What illumination does your name bring you & others?
Simon Weil wrote that "If we go down into ourselves, we find that we possess exactly what we desire."
The heart is the home of your true identity. What name does your heart desire? Has the "deep down" of you yet found a full expression you can name?
What if you secretly re-christened yourself this Christmas?
-Erie Chapman
Self Portrait 1977 -by Erie
