Before we get to the "reinventing," let's talk more about the Clash. I came to them later in life too. I was probably 27 before I really listened to them. Like many people it was London Calling that solidified my love for the band. The lyric, "I wasn't born, so much as I fell out." washed away any reservations I might have had about the band. Strummers lyrics and the melodies they came up with are amazing, no matter what their economic place at birth was.

Mad-dog vocals, stamping left foot: the fit was instant. His lyrics were a rock-and-roll marvel—jagged, speedy playground chants apparently purpose-built to conduct the shocks of Mick Jones’s guitar. (In reality, it often worked the other way around: Strummer would type up his words rapidly, Dylan-esquely, “like a newspaperman,” as Jones put it, and then fling the pages at the guitarist, trusting him to find the music in them.)

From what I've read, Joe Strummer was the kind of guy you could run in to at a pub and he'd have a beer with you. The kind of guy that would show you around his neighborhood if you were visiting for the first time.

You are right, it can be difficult to shed ones skin and start over, to excoriate your former self like an old coat you're throwing away. Not as easy as it seems. To that end, I've never done anything that dramatic. I've made difficult life decisions that took me in another direction, whether it be to end a relationship or quit a job in pursuit of a new one in a different industry. These things aren't remarkable though, they are a common part of the human experience. There are people though that truly start anew often as the result of a traumatic event; the death of a loved one, the birth of a child or a near death experience can cause many people to assess their current situation and make dramatic changes. I also think people acquire so much mental baggage that they often want a "reset," in my opinion this has been the great strength of modern evangelicalism in the US. "Born again" is a pretty appealing concept. All is forgiven -Really? Sign me up. Unfortunately, I don't think it's so simple.

One of my favorite lyrics is from Jeff Tweedy of Wilco, from the song Ashes of American Flags

  All my lies are always wishes
  I know I would die if I could come back new

So, have I re-invented myself? No, not really. But I do think that every day, every moment I am inventing myself. I am adding to the soup that is me. I often make horrible choices as to which ingredients to add, but more often than not I make good ones.

The most recent introduction to my life is tennis. I have been playing tennis 3 times a week for the past two months. It's changed me, both physically and mentally. I'm drinking less, I sleep better and I eat less late at night. I suppose that is re-inventing myself. It's like cW said in the New Green Podcast on Running "When I run, I run to change the world. Granted, I don’t change much of it, at least not all at once. But in another sense, I change every bit of it, in an instant — abracadabra-style. I change the world by changing myself." -In this sense, we re-invent ourselves and we impact the world with every decision we make. Hell, writing this post is impacting my consciousness.

Your post just re-invented me :)

How about you? Are you re-inventing yourself?