Taking One’s Own Path

There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is nothing more difficult and rewarding than being one’s self. It is so difficult because you will have to struggle and strive against a world pushing you towards the mean; so rewarding because there is nothing more natural than living in accordance with one’s thoughts and beliefs.

Many years ago I thought it a self-evident and natural thing to be one’s self — but I realize now that it was only because I was living too distant from the world. To be oneself is easy when you are in the company of your solitude, but to hold true to your ideals and ways of being in the midst of society is an altogether different challenge. I now find myself with beliefs and values incongruent with that of the world, whilst simultaneously wanting to be successful within it.

Pursuit of productivity for productivity’s sake is the philosophy du jour, and anyone who fails to submit will be “left behind”. But perhaps where we are going isn’t worth moving towards — and it seems to me that one must forgo themself if they want to go there. There is a place for authenticity, style, the cultivation of one’s self — and with time, this will become only more rare and valuable and desired. I reckon in a not too distant day our brave new world will yearn for a return to the old, and those who have treasured and kept close their special countenance will stand as a constant reminder of what it means to be human.

** Originally in Time Capsule #161