Article date: Feb 10, 2021
When I was a kid I was slightly obsessed by the original Charlie’s Angels television show. This was because I was only nine when it premiered and I wasn’t allowed to watch it, so of course this made it all the more appealing.
Unbeknownst to my parents, I used to lie covertly at the top of the stairs to our basement rec room to try and grab glimpses of the ‘Angels’ as they jiggled across our black and white TV screen. Finally, when I was twelve and my parents were pre-occupied with their impending separation, I was allowed to stay up and watch it.
This was long after Cheryl Ladd had replaced Farrah Fawcett and Kate Jackson had just been replaced by ex “Charlie” fragrance model Shelley Hack.
The Sum Of Us
One of my favourite episodes from this fourth season was, “Angels on the Street” where the gals went undercover as ‘ladies of the evening’, even though coincidentally every single shot(scene) of the episode was shot in bright daylight. The story revolved around a young music teacher, Judy, who is beaten up by a pimp but has absolutely no idea why.
The ‘Angels’ eventually discover through a number of well-worn clichés and a myriad of disco inspired hooker outfits that Judy actually suffers from multiple personality disorder, wherein she is a music teacher by day as well as, ‘Rose’, a prostitute… also by day.
Although the allure of such scandalous late 70’s nine PM programming was intoxicating for my prepubescent brain, I was more intrigued by the haunting ballad in which Judy sang at the top of the episode:
- If could I see
- The sum of I and me
- The total of the we
- What would the total be?
The Mirror Has Two Faces… At Least.
To this day this song still resonates with me as the lyrics call to mind the fact that we all play many roles in our lives, and sometimes may even go as far to sublimate our authentic selves in order to protect ourselves or to fit into a particular situation. However, what is the price of this choice? How often to do we try and squeeze our square peg selves into a round hole? Moreover, how do we learn to remain true to ourselves and yet still manage to adapt to the world around us?
For me, part of the answer lies in self-reflection. When you take the time to examine how you interact with others in a variety of scenarios and how you feel in these situations it can help you to gain a greater sense of self-awareness.
The benefits of this may include increased stability and less conflict within personal and professional relationships as well as an enhanced ability to handle the endless amount of stressors that you are faced with on a daily basis. In turn, this can help you to maintain a stronger internal sense of self that correlates with your core values and ultimately, could improve your overall quality of life.
Just as Judy learned in a mind boggling turn-on-a-dime reveal how much better she would feel if she combined the two separate parts of her personality, what would the impact on your life be, if you could see the parts of your “I” and “me” and unite them into a happy “we”?