What are Personal Artifacts? 

The most searched for term that leads to this site and it is often sought is the question, "What are Personal Artifacts"? Long ago while working as a therpist I began to explore a concept which I loosely called "personal artifacts". While these artifacts could conceiveably be almost any item we as humans create and leave behind I began to define them as you see them described below. After my use of this term it began to appear or I began to see it appear in other formats and venues of discussion. My definition suits me and has served me well in working with others and exploring the elements of life and self.

The Continuum

Life, mine and yours has a place in the vast continuum of existence if only for the time span of each of our lifetimes. This continuum contains the “I Have Been”, the “I Am, and the “I Will Be” of self. This special timeline reaches backward and forward from the moment of right now. Right now is influenced by the chosen and random narrative of what came before, mixed with the choices of this very moment and the arbitrary nature of now. The “I Will Be” of my future and yours is understandable (if only partially) by exploring the “I Have Been” and the “I Am” of the narrative and artifacts of self.

Personal Narratives and Artifacts

Our personal narrative of self contains the stories we piece together of our life. Some are accurate representations of life and self and some are not. These stories, colored by our beliefs and inclinations, can be more powerful than the circumstances and events were it possible to consult an impartial observer. In essence, they are really our personalized alternative narratives and are explanatory artifacts for understanding life. My narrative is no different and is represented by the blog entries on the first page of this web site.

We travelers along this continuum of life create and use artifacts. These artifacts can be physical objects or they can be less visible as pointed out above. Like archeologists we can excavate and expose our “personal artifacts” to a light of the present. We can examine them and define the real and metaphorical connection to their place in our lives. Doing so can give us some chance of understanding our possible futures in a world that is filled with wonders and yet at times can be difficult.

My personal narrative and artifacts are partially represented on this web site. It contains small glimpses of how I examine the “I Have Been” and the “I Am” of my self. Some of the artifacts I present are complete and have their place further back on the continuum; others exist and are being created in the now. All can and probably will lead to the place of “I Will Be” on my personal continuum and “process of being”.