While it is true that we are born into a world full of people to interact with, we are also born alone into this world as
individuals. When we are infants, we are individualistic in our actions and temperaments, willing to spend
hours alone at play with our own imaginations. Not yet aware of the scrutiny of the world around us, we have no trouble thinking and acting freely. In an unfortunate phenomenon, we become hyper-sensitive to the scrutiny of our fellow man as we grow in age–so much so that we loose touch with our true inner selves.
Paradoxically, we become aware of the self and in the same leap lose touch with our true selves. From then forward, the idea of the individual is gradually attacked from all angles in our psyche. When one begins to express individualistic ideas, the ideas are frowned upon and the individual is often discredited. Much of our actions from then on are carefully guarded so as to obtain the approval of the world.
In the process of losing our selves, we also lose our voice. Many of us are uncomfortable with the sound of our own voices and find it hard to breathe within the vacuum of our own thoughts. We respond to the silence surrounding our thoughts as a blinding darkness rather than as the appropriate background that helps the “light” of our minds shine brighter. The state of being aware of our own independent thoughts is so frightening to so many of us.
Many men have gone mad at the shock of being alone with their thoughts. The first time one is truly aware of his thoughts can be a frightening experience, but that first spark is an experience in awakening.
That spark comes on its own, but the purposeful element in this experience is in the decision to either enter that realm again or shut your eyes to that reality. The awakening occurs in the lives of many people, but it is a difficult choice to keep one’s eyes open.
The decision to explore one’s own thoughts is an exercise in solitude. It is at first an uncomfortable decision to be alone with your own untainted and unadjusted thoughts. When we allow ourselves to be physically, mentally, and spiritually alone, we allow our pure thoughts to reveal themselves. Much of our daily thoughts are heavily influenced by those we are around, as well as the material world we experience. Not often are we able to stumble upon a purely authentic mental state. Our thoughts are continuously polluted by the opinions of others as they are being formed; rarely are these thoughts free to form in a vacuum, untainted.
The world we live in does all it can to distract us from our thoughts. There are innumerable voices to turn to in an effort to ignore that personal voice. We must learn to be comfortable in solitude and comfortable with our own thoughts. The longer we allow the silence to embrace us, the louder those inner thoughts becomes–until we can no longer ignore that voice. It is in these moments that we learn about ourselves, our true opinions, our inner convictions. These are the moments of true clarity. It is in these moments we stumble upon truth–the eternal essence.
Practice being alone with your thoughts, for it is only in those moments that our thoughts are purely ours.
I find this post to be powerful, in one light we are
stripped of our true selves as we grow older. However, I believe
this self is always and ever-present. We are formed through the
opinions of others we trust, yes, but is this necessarily a bad
thing? We make our decisions based on ourselves and our past
experiences, and the culmination of these decisions becomes our new
self. Mom and Dad helped me with my foundation and my friends then
helped set the framework. I love all of them. Get what I’m
saying?
I know exactly what you are saying. I am certainly not saying we should live in a vacuum devoid of the influence of our surrounding and others. I am simply stating that we should spend more time in a vacuum and not to be so afraid of our own voice when it sounds strange in vacuum.
I think you’ve touched on a growing problem. The reason I mention it as growing is because the phenomenon of being to insecure to think for ourselves. You are absolutely right about the distractions. These days there are more ways to distract oneself from thinking than there used to be.
Disturbingly so, because it also appears to be affecting this latests generation’s ability to proactively communicate with others in a meaningful way. Excellent post here. I hope you would consider continuing to blog in the future.
Thank You very much. I am humbled by the fact that folks even read my stuff. I shall continue to write.
I’ve come back to this post a few times but while reading today the below quote seemed aligned. enjoy.
“…because to influence a person is to give him one’s own soul. He does not think his natural thoughts, or burn with his natural passions. His virtues are not real to him. His sins, if there are such things as sins, are borrowed. He becomes an echo of someone else’s music, an actor of a part that has not been written for him. To realise one’s nature perfectly – that is what each of us is here for. People are afraid of themselves, nowadays. They have forgotten thr highest od all duties, the duty that one owes to one’s self.”
Compliments of Oscar Wilde