Self-Reliance

We all gotta learn it at some point. I’ve never been tested more than on my time abroad.

The only thing keeping me sane these last couple of weeks — which have been exceptionally trying — is philosophy. I’ve been going hard on thinkers like Schopenhauer and Kierkegaard in class, but I’ve found time for some others in my spare time. One of my favorites is Ralph Waldo Emerson.

He has this really interesting philosophy about self-reliance. He seemed pretty averse to societal structures (e.g. religion) which he thought drew individuals away from their true divine nature. He was a transcendentalist, believing that “god” exists everywhere and within everything. Thus, all things are divine in their own nature (this also reminds me of the Lloyd-Jones translation of Oresteia I am currently reading for class which teaches that all things are just in the eyes of Zeus, and justice is a balance always kept by the ruling god, even if it sometimes doesn’t appear that way to mortals). He believed in relying on the self–on the essence of who and what we are independent of how we might’ve been raised and the influences we’ve had.

This is a theme I’ve sort of been trying to keep over the last year or so. It’s why I like the words vi veri veniversum vivus vici so much. (“Truth” here — at least to me — means one’s own truth, and in living your truth, you conquer everything).

None of this is to say that I think we should be completely set in our own individual ways of looking at the world. I think we should constantly be exposing ourselves to new ideas and philosophies and do our best to learn from them (which can also impact our level of compassion for others). I believe we should analyze everything, judge everything, and then come to our own conclusions regardless of who said it or any associations it might bear.

And I think that’s what Emerson meant, too. I think that’s what a lot of people get wrong. We’re all looking to change others’ minds when really we should be looking to evolve our own ways of thinking. It is useless for any of us to get so worked up about making other people agree with us. Few — one in a million perhaps — would accomplish this in any notable capacity. But imagine if everyone simply strove for excellence in their own lives. Excellence of thought, of speech. How much faster could we reach peace? How much more compassionate and innovative might we become?

This is what all great thinkers from Emerson to Gandhi understood: the importance of the individual. Of “being the change.” Of being misunderstood. (As Emerson says, “To be great is to be misunderstood.”)

Immersing myself in a new culture hasn’t been easy. I’ve been forced to analyze things about myself and my beliefs, and along the way I’ve definitely noticed shifts in my ways of thinking. (Hopefully for the better.) In all, I think I’ve mostly been learning to go with the flow. The world is a weird place and you’re gonna run up against things that feel uncomfortable. That’s life. That’s people. Weird and different but ultimately super dope in their own way. Everything is an experience. Find compassion for yourself and others. Try not to have a meltdown.

Enjoy the ride. This experience is already half-way over!