Self-Reliance
"Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" --Emerson, "Self-Reliance"
This quote is basically a summary of the whole essay, because it tells how making and pursuing your own choices are more important than friends or what other people think or believe. Your own mind is the ultimate judge of all the various things you encounter, and Emerson urges readers to treat it as just that; and not subjugate it to the opinions of other people.
This quote however is not saying that we should all just sit down on that proverbial rock, like a taoist, and do nothing; it is saying that you should do what you want to do--and put as much passion as you want into it.
To paraphrase the ideas Emerson wrote about:
It is your life, and your choices; at the end of your days, you will regret it if you have spent your life living for someone else. (Try to see beyond your own nose!) Take some time to really think about why you are living the life you are living; and if you're happy with those choices.
I'm pretty big on making choices for myself; it sounds like a dumb concept but I find that, subconsciously, people are often held back from true happiness or fulfillment by what people would think. Take a step back and live life for youurself; as Emerson suggests, begin by choosing for yourself.
It's easy to turn your mind off and blindly follow established norms; and if you do so, at the end of the day you will be no worse off than the majority of the people out there. But dare to break out of those norms--trust your own active mind--and you will be great. Thinking for yourself establishes your values ("Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself"), and teaches you to think critically. It's not easy; but the philosophy of thoughtful action, defining yourself and the things around you as you go, will allow you to gain more knowledge than those who blindly follow, or even those who sit arouund reading obscurely worded books (take Emerson for example...). In other words, get out there and make yourself. In other words, STOP READING THIS.
(This next part is for myself; if this were an essay like Emerson's, I would not hope most readers would read this. I'd rather they stop sitting on that proverbial rock and gt out and make a name for themselves. But regardless:)
Dare to make yourself even better; never stop striving. If you want something, it takes self-reliance to make it happen. There's something I like to call an "inner fire" that exists within every sentient being. When an animal is in dire trouble, their inner fire is what gets them through hard times and cold winters and allows them to persevere. But animals only use that for survival; humans can use this to create a burning desire to accomplish anything in the world. That is personally what I take from Emerson's quote; by breaking free from opressive norms, any given person can ignite their tenacity and ingenuity to accomplish great things.
In theory, this works flawlessly. A human's inner fire is the most powerful and most adaptable tool we possess; but keeping that fire lit is one of the hardest tasks of great men. What was it that kept Julius Caesar away for years fighting the Gauls in order to make a name for himself back in Rome? And what brought us away from earth and into the void of space? Neither of these happened on a whim; both took years of keeping determination alive. I think it is appropriate to say that great accomplishments consist of "one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration (--Ben Franklin)".
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3 comments:
Austin your blog response was sooooooo great!! And I know you said to stop reading but I don't care I read it anyways and it was my favorite part of your response. I completely and thoroughly agree with all you said. The quote is the essence of self-reliance. Self-reliance is being just that, SELF reliant. You cannot depend on anyone or anything else if you want to be self-reliant.
This stuck out for me in your response: "But dare to break out of those norms--trust your own active mind--and you will be great. Thinking for yourself establishes your values ("Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself"), and teaches you to think critically." Self-reliance means to be dependent on yourself. How are you gonna feel about yourself if you know deep down that you are not the one who did the work? For example, cheating. When you cheat, yeah you might get the grade and the accomplishment. But it is not going to feel as good as the person who deserved it. People might view you as smart or successful, but who cares how they feel, they are not you. If you do not approve of yourself--YOU HAVE NOTHING. To be self reliant you must be confident in yourself. When you cheat it means that you are self-conscious and when you do not think you can do it, you can not be self reliant.
I really like the end of your response, which is very inspiring and uplifting. All courage comes from within. No person can just give it to you, it comes from deep within yourself. I you want something, you have to get it for yourself. Austin, I know you have heard this speech from Doug a lot like I have. If we want the CIF championship, no one else is going to do it for you, because all those older players are gone, it is up to us. As a junior now, I have come to realize this and am working really hard to redeem our second place loss last year. To sum up, I completely agree with you and am working hard myself like you, to become self-reliant :)
Very motivational! Your get-up-and-go interpretation of Emerson's thoughts is terrific! It is, after all, too easy to just think of all of this stuff as theory and not really consider making it work to us, utilizing it not for its own sake but for ourselves. While helpful in allowing us to achieve greater heights, I fear this fixation on the self would ultimately hurt us, though. Truly, are people not defined by their interactions with others? By yourself, you have nothing to define yourself with, the self, by its self, is effectively meaningless. I argue that part of our reason for being is to think of others before us. This, in turn, causes this outward goodness to reflect and improve our own lives. Brother Cadfael, a fictitious monk detective (I forget the author of the books from which he is a character) said "A man is not judged only by how much he loves, but by how much he is loved." I just feel that, although it is true we need to look out for ourselves, we cannot allow this to detract from our looking out for others. Although an inward focus can help you achieve great things, groups of people are simply more efficient and effective than a lone genius. It's like a joint-stock company, if you'll forgive the metaphor. When everybody puts something in, they all get more out of it. So please, do help yourself, don't falter, accomplish great things, but remember that other people are just as crucial as the self.
Austin, your blog was really long and was extremely detailed. Good work - I agree with your thoughts on self-reliance. It's important to make decisions and choices for yourself. People usually will do what's best for himself so it's vital that he is the one making decisions. A good example of this is going to school. Oneself must decide between how much time to spend on schoolwork and how much time to spend on fun activities. Nobody can really help you decide how long to spend on your homework each night opposed to watching TV but yourself. I agree with your self-reliance post.
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