Become Who You Are
“Each person’s only hope for improving his lot rests on his recognizing the true nature of his basic personality, surrendering to it, and becoming who he is.” – Psychotherapist and author, Sheldon Kopp (1929 – March 29, 1999)
I am an intellectually curious person. I am a progressive thinker. My thoughts come to me in broad, sweeping strokes. For example, I am more interested in the universal role of myth than I am interested in devotionally adhering to any single myth; I am more interested in human religiousness more than I am interested in being an adherent to any one single religious expression; I am more interested in the attempt to somehow capture and animate the compiled vision, energy, passion, devotion and conviction that so inspired our world’s religious heroes and heroines more than I am interested in the unfortunate attempt to systematize and doctrinize the lives of these heroes and heroines; I am more interested in contextually living a life like these heroes and heroines lived more than I am interested in the attempt to live vicariously through them and then calling that vicarious vanity worship. <divergent rant> Personally, I think that sort of worship is complete bullshit. It’s just too lazy and too commercial to let them – our religious heroes and heroines – live our lives for us. </divergent rant> Again, my thoughts come to me in broad, sweeping strokes. That’s who I am; that’s me. This is an aspect of my basic personality. I am at my most peaceful best when I can simply become who I am in a place I was meant to be. I think every single person reading this is the same way too.
Sheldon Kopp is 100% right. I have to recognize who I am and simply become it. If I do so, I will naturally find the place where I should be because the simple act of becoming who I am will naturally lead me to the place I should be. When the “who I am” intersects with a “place I am meant to be” then everything works for the good. It’s when we try to be something or someone we are not and were never meant be that we start to wander and become lost. The sad part of being lost like that has everything to do with the reason why we became lost in the first place! More often than not, we become lost because we are not being who we are because someone else would have us be someone or something else. Someone else would prefer that we become someone or something other than ourselves. When we buy into that sort of thinking, we try to become someone or something that we are not and were not meant to be. We become lost for the sake of someone or something else. This is bad. We should never try to become someone else or something else for the sake of someone or something else. Make sense? In other words, always be and become who you are and you will find your way home!
In fact, becoming who you are is the only thing that will lead you home.
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Be glad you have figured this out at such a young age. It took me 15 years to figure this out, but once I did, it has been a journey to greater things. What amazes me is the people who tried to shape me into something else still try to judge me by those old standards. That’s their loss and hangup. I am who I am, and I make no apologies for it. Be true to yourself. It’s the only way to live well. I don’t think God wants us to live any other way. He’s the only one we need to please.