Real Name

I often get asked, “Is that your real name?”  This is nothing new, I have been asked about my name for as long as I can remember.  My parents named me Tyran Rex Ormond after, you guessed it, the tyrannosaurus rex.

It’s a fun story but it wasn’t so fun when I realized what those words actually meant:  Tyrant King.  For some reason, my parents never reminded me to live up to the name they gave me.  In reality, I did that well enough without any reminders.

Real Name

This morning I read the comments below on Facebook:

“I bet that’s not her real name though.”  Real name, what is that?  Is it the name your parents gave you?  I knew a junior high math teacher, Mr. Balls (I think his first name was Tom).  He laughed when I asked about his name and said, “At least my parents didn’t name me after my grandpa, Harry.”

Is it a person’s legal name?  I was told I would never be Ramdas unless I legally changed my name.  The person telling me this was unaware that I did that very thing three years earlier.

It’s Not What You Think

What is your real name?  Who is this “I” that calls itself Mary or Bob or Thomas or Sarah?  What is it that believes itself to be the name that some other person gave it?  It’s not what you think.

Jai Bhagwan