On Illusions and Identity

Gianna Tesone

The Mind of a 1 Percenter - Volume 1

IG: Giannatesone

Let’s talk about illusions.

Not the illusions that cause sensory or physical phenomena but the ones we, faulty and imperfect humans, self-fabricate over our lives every day as a result of a discrepancy between our perceptive-awareness and experiences. We create paradigms based on an activating event, consequently forming beliefs, feelings and emotions which we project onto others and everyday scenarios we experience.

Think about this concept as a lens, or a pair of colored, tinted or dirty glasses, so to speak. The tint shrouds the truth of the matter and limits your vision to see what really is. But we live comfortably, proudly and ignorantly wear these lenses, assuming that everyone else can see the same colors or dimensions (or lack thereof), when in reality your “truth” is simply a story you've told yourself, or that someone else has told you.

We can all say we’ve been loved and betrayed, appreciated and hurt, remembered and forgotten, and have reciprocated these actions - if not, you're either not being honest with yourself or just blissfully unaware. These actions are characteristic of us as a broken people, always yearning for ways to fill voids left by what once was love and now is resentment or what was once satisfaction and now is emptiness.

We are overly consumed with everyone else but ourselves, afraid to look inward and face the truth of these voids, playing the victim and hoping someone else will come along to save us.

So, ironically we become lazy, irresponsible and complacent as we remain relentlessly pursuing momentary fixes of happiness, following the same comfortable routines, and stay in agreement with toxic mindsets instead of first looking inward to ask ourselves the uncomfortable and messy but necessary questions. These illusions deter us from our true design and limit beliefs of ourselves and the beauty of the world around us.

So how do we rewire our thinking to utilize wisdom and better understand and live in truth, rather than in the confinements of our old patterns? It reaches the point of identity. Take off those glasses. Remove the filter from your vision and look to the core of who you are, not others’ futile opinions, affirmations or ideas of you. The concept of identity goes far deeper than job title, socioeconomic status, race, religion, age, gender, or other constructs we have chosen to abide within.

With knowledge comes a responsibility to apply it with wisdom in order to reveal the truth and the ability to become the best version of yourself.