08 September 2007
Playing Devil’s Advocate on the subject of being oneself (Yup, feeling devilish…)
)Published on September 8th, 2007 @ 12:04:28 pm, using 486 words, 61 views
(What’s the single most popular piece of advice offered in this day and age? You know! That one-size-fits-all little pearl, applicable to a host of different circumstances…
“Just be yourself!” Ever heard that one? I’d say in all likelihood…
Well, let’s get to the bottom of this being yourself, shall we?
I unearthed the following journal entry written a few years ago… Brace yourself!)
Living is a constant selling of oneself. It is the way by which one becomes liked. And being liked is a commodity like any other. A commodity very much like education in that it can never be lost once obtained. People’s opinions are said to be unimportant in a balance against one’s true self.
And above all else: To thine own self be true
(Hamlet)
But in fact what must be taken into account besides or rather, over politically correct considerations and fairy tale-ish half truths, is the fact that no one’s true self is completely likable. Flaws are ever present, inherent components of any human being and hardly ever well received. So, what to do with them?
There will be time to prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet
(The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock)
Diminish them as you would a skin blemish, I say. Use concealer if need be. Your true self in all its splendor of high-lights and low-darks is not always the best of friends.
I’ve always been myself, you know? Even when I was ill. Only now, I seem myself. And that’s the important thing. I have remembered how to seem.
(The Madness of King George)
And those described as friends who may or may not live up to the title but on whose opinions one’s image in this world – one’s reputation, if you will – hinges, THEY will be quick to point and sneer and diminish if given the opportunity. Hiding is oftentimes in order. Selling is oftentimes the only resort.
Just remember that you’re not just reading the news, you’re narrating it. Everybody has to sell a little. You’re selling them this idea of you, y’know, you’re sort of saying ‘Trust me, I’m… credible.’ So when you feel yourself just reading… Stop! Start selling a little.
(Broadcast News)
So what does all that selling and hiding mean? Where does it get us? What does it make us? I say it makes us inexhaustible, bottomless wells of new truths that sprout daily
The time to make up your mind about people is never.
(The Philadelphia Story)
And that’s just as it should be, isn’t it?
Incubus - Drive/
This post is the creative work of Iris Watts Hirideyo and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
being yourself, flaws. hiding, credibility, likability, seeming
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