Why I Changed My Name
Five years ago, I was on a plane from Bali to New York. I had a couple hundred dollars to my name at most, and that was ignoring my substantial debts. I had a 10-hour layover straight through the night in Hong Kong. I slept—or better put, passed the night—on a bench in the airport. Wishing I could afford a hotel.
I had no idea how I would rebuild my life from scratch once I returned “home.” I didn’t actually have a home to return to. My two hundred dollars—which would go far in Bali—would hardly get me so much as a one night stay in a New York City hotel. I had a few generous couch surfing invitations and the rest was totally up in the air.
On the long flight from Hong Kong direct to JFK Airport, I watched the movie “Bohemian Rhapsody.” I admired Freddie Mercury’s authenticity, eccentricity, and creativity. And I was surprised to learn that he had named himself that fabulous name. Such a perfect fit for him. Within a split second I knew I was about to change my name.
It wasn’t so much that I decided to change my name. It was more that I knew in an instant, with complete certitude, that I was meant to change my name. As if a new name had chosen me. Just my last name. In honor of the new self that had been born throughout my crazy odyssey and my many trials of the three years leading up to that moment.
Very soon thereafter, I knew exactly what I would call myself. The name I chose—aka, that dawned within me—is this:
NAOMI AEON
Aeon meaning “Light of Rebirth” and resurrection. The infinite possibilities and brand-new beginnings that arise from the smoldering ashes of death, destruction, loss, and decay.
It’s also a word that references time and timelessness. It hails the idea of eternity and the cyclical nature of life. It’s also about living in the truth of Oneness, the inherent interconnectedness of every living thing the planet over.
The word Aeon is also about transcending judgment, condemnation, and ideas of right and wrong. It entails a radical forgiveness of the self—a radical acceptance of the self—for any and all blunders, missteps, and failures. Not to passively let ourselves off the hook, but to learn our lessons and move on into the new. Generously giving ourselves the gift of a clean slate.
Aeon entails a radical forgiveness of others, aka a radical acceptance of others. For any and all blunders, missteps, and failures on their parts. Again, that doesn’t mean shrugging one’s shoulders in passivity. It means laying down the burden that attends whatever stories of victimhood we’re clinging to. Because it is burdensome to live under the weight of our own judgments and maligning of other people. It sentences us to a prison of our own making.
Aeon is about honoring the higher meanings of things. It’s about not measuring merely with the yardstick of the five senses. It’s about honoring what’s not seen as the primary shaper of reality. The laws of the universe. The higher intelligence. It’s about seeing through the eyes of Spirit.
This new name of mine reflects my truths and my values as well as who I wish to be. It’s as much a statement of aspiration as “who I am.” My new name doubles as a permanent reminder to the self. In one word, it’s the ultimate declaration of what I’ve come to stand for.
My new name is the ultimate declaration of how my years-long trial by fire ushered me forward and upward into new understandings. Deeper, richer understandings of life, of people, and of the workings of the world.
My new name speaks to the way that ultimately our personal crises enable us to blossom. Our challenges coax and sculpt and forge us into bigger, better, truer, and ever more resplendent versions of ourselves.
Love + Oneness,
Naomi
