I came across a quote that I love today while surfing various websites:
"We are constantly invited to be what we are" -- Henry David Thoreau
I have always loved this quote. While it may seem somewhat fatalistic at first glance, it is not. The quote is beautiful in its simplicity. In my humble opinion it implies choice: we can choose to be what we are or we can pretend we are something we are not. At the same time, the observation in the quote doesn't limit us from trying to change and grow. It does imply that there are ways or "invitations" for us to grow that lie within our authentic selves. Things tend to work out to a kind of equilibrium of that same authentic self versus any false facade we might create.
Every day I see Thoreau's observation in action. I'm as guilty as the next person of occasionally pretending to be something other than what I am. But it seems that pretense tends to dissolve (often quite quickly, sometimes painfully), unless it fits with our authentic self and whatever joys, sorrows or limitations that entails. It seems those who are happiest have embraced who and what they are and continue to build their world around that.
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2 comments:
Being who we are seems so simple and yet at times it is incredibly complicated because who we are is complex. I think of myself as so many different things and some of them don't seem on the surface to even be compatible. Some times I am a strong, confident, capable and masculine person and then sometimes I am soft, quiet, shy and sensitive. Are these really incompatible or just different facets of the person I am.
Excellent point. I don't disagree that we, as humans, are complex beings. I guess I was painting with broader strokes.
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