Nothing can be pleasing which is not also becoming.
Quintilian
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What has become of me? What have I become? What am I becoming? These are hard questions to consider as I duck the stones that life keeps throwing at me.
Someone once asked John Wayne what he thought of himself and he replied "I try not to." It's very difficult. We are reminded of ourselves every waking minute. And we have to take ourselves under consideration when we are about to make any personal choices. But then we have to ask ourselves, who is this self with whom I am consulting?
Jean Paul Sartre wrote "We only become what we are by radical and deep-seeded refusal of that which others have made of us." But maybe that goes for what we think we have made of ourselves. I refuse to accept myself as the bumbling lout I have convinced myself that I am, just as I refuse to accept myself as the irresponsible villain that others have tried to make of me.
I have been stung by my own ignorance therefore I have become wiser. I have been stuck with my own lies hence I have become more honest. I have witnessed cruelty and so I have become more humane. I have shamed myself by my harsh criticism of those who were wrong therefore I have become more understanding. I have in the past been unconcerned about the suffering of those around me and now I have become more compassionate.
I strongly urge my friends to reject, refuse and deny the two dimensional puppets that others may try to make of you and with the same vigor refute the foolish fictions you have made up about yourselves.
The road to self-discovery is a fascinating journey. Every time I think I know what I am, I became something else or something more. That's what makes life so comical and so frustratingly interesting.
DB
3 comments:
I have come to a time in my life when I am acutely aware that I know myself better than anyone else does. Other's perceptions are so often formed by looking at my outside when the real me is not there at all. Once again, a very interesting entry.
Hugs, Joyce
Well freakin' said!! You get an 'atta boy' for this one. Tell 'em D.B. Tell 'em all!!
I think we all find our lives fascinating journeys; just when I think I have it all figured out; something comes along that throws me into a spin (often out of control) and I need to ground myself again until the next interesting spin and so on; and that is life I think :)
betty
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