At our conception, it is a reasonable assumption to conclude that within our DNA, there was created the seed of a unique person – the person you are meant to be.
If this is correct, it begs the question – why is it so difficult for many of us to be this person? It gets even more confusing when you presume that being this person would allow us the most opportunity for a successful and fulfilling life.
Of course, we do not know this in the beginning, but as we develop the ability to be more introspective with age, this should be obvious to us and certainly to those with the responsibility of helping us grow to adulthood.
I have always been curious how some of us know who we are meant to be from the beginning of our self-awareness, and for others it requires the journey of a lifetime.
I have no answer as to why this is. However, for the sake of this discussion, I am more interested in those people who have to discover their distinctiveness by experiencing life.
I believe it was Rollo May, the psychiatrist and author, who coined the phrase, “life is more about willingness than will.” When we follow the path of our true person hood life is more about steering our way in a down steam current, as compared to rowing all of our lives against the current. The question for each of us should be “are we in a downstream or upstream current?”
One caveat needs to be considered. Your being authentic to your personal reality does not mean it will always be easier. On the contrary, it may often be just the opposite.
What is important for each of us to understand is our lives should not be about how hard our journey is, but that we are always making progress and traveling in the right direction.
I am sure this is at the heart of the issue. The difficulty in living an authentic life is that it makes demands on us- demands that subconsciously we already know will be asked of us.
For many, this means sacrifice, and changes in the way we think and in our lifestyle. Not all of these changes come easy, and many require enduring turmoil and hardship as we progress to our “authentic life.”
Is this why so many of us hide in the shadows and refuse to act? Do we not act for the reasons stated? If so, it begs the next question - can this decision to be or not to be authentic be reduced to a matter of personal courage? Is it that simple?
Finding the center of strength within ourselves is in the long run the best contribution we can make for our fellow human beings” ― Rollo May
John Frank Giovanni, commenting for "Musings"
opd 915
Comments