Midweek Mini: Be True to Yourself
“Can you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be?” --Charles Bukowski
“Can you remember who you were before the world told you who you should be?”
“Eliza Doolittle: I’m a good girl, I am!” I, too, was a good girl. Except for some teen to twenties hijinks, I did what I was supposed to do. Many of you have probably lived a predictable life (like me), and it has worked out pretty well. We are comfortable and well-cared for and enjoy an array of the pleasures of life.
Think back to your childhood for a few minutes. As your life developed, what things caught your interest? What things were you constantly reaching for? Did you imagine that “when you grew up” you would love to do this job or that job? Maybe you saw pictures of places around the world and thought how you would love to visit them. In school, your mind was opened to academic subjects in class, and oh, those specials! Maybe you could be an artist, quarterback, writer, or musician! Schools teach so many different things to awaken latent areas of our brains, to help us develop open minds, and stir our curiosity. Children’s minds anticipate excitement and adventure ahead. Or do they? Consider this quote by Paul Coelho. He is talking about the influence that parents have on their children. The selection is a little chilling:
“Parents rarely let go of their children, so children let go of them.
They move on. They move away.
The moments that used to define them are covered by
moments of their own accomplishments.
It is not until much later, that
children understand;
their stories and all their accomplishments, sit atop the stories
of their mothers and fathers, stones upon stones,
beneath the water of their lives.”
As I interpret it, Coelho is saying that children can choose to break away from parental expectations. It is okay to desert activities and choices made by your parents to allow your inner self to be the “you” who was “you” when you were growing up. Don’t forget! YOU are YOU-nique.
As we journey, it is reasonable to wonder that “maybe the journey isn’t so much about becoming anything. Maybe it’s about un-becoming everything that isn’t really you so you can be who you were meant to be in the first place.” (no citation) Some clever person said, “I spent the first 2/3 of my life acquiring stuff that doesn’t matter so that I can spend my last 1/3 getting rid of it.” The acquisition of material things begins to reinforce the parental-imposed way of life. We and our things intermingle to define us to the world. But. Is it your world or an artificially-imposed world?
We certainly can’t travel back in time and change our choices, nor can we reject everything we are at this time in our lives. That is not the point of this essay. We ought to be proud of the life we have built and what we have given to make the world a better place. The point is that by taking a trip down memory lane, we can remember things from our childhood dreams that can still be realized. A little spark of magic inside you can set you on an adventure. Your “child-self “ can reawaken and send you on a trip around the world! It can interrupt that inner voice that says, “It’s too late.” You can still embark on that hobby that always nudged you. You can volunteer to help at places of need.
Do you remember these existential words from that true-to-himself cartoon philosopher Popeye? "I yam what I yam, and that's all what I yam." He also said,” If I'm not me, who am I? And If I'm somebody else, why do I look like me?”
Encourage yourself to dig deep and get real! Remember what you have forgotten about yourself. Be of good courage and try something your way!
“I am who “I am.” Not who you think I am. Not who you want me to be. I am me.” Brigitte Nicole
“Let’s be who we are. Shall we?”