Okay we started this in the first class but didn't get to it in the second class....so tell me what makes you an individual or what do you will in the recesses of your conscious, in the purity of your heart, and how does that will manifest itself in your concrete life. Finally, tell me how you compromise that identity, how you pervert or stain that purity of heart. Give me concrete examples. Be specific, take a risk and say something intimate, or even confessional....
Cheers,
Dr. Layne
PS Due to my amazingly flighty nature over the last week, I somehow misplaced the sign up sheet for the WAC Lab. Consequently when you go to you appointment there may be some problems. If this happens please let me know and try to make another appointment.
I will myself to be a light in other's lives, whether it be by being there for them in a time of need, answering questions, or just being a consistent individual when it comes to living out my faith. However, I compromise that when I put my priorities over other's, when I am in too much of a hurry to spend the amount of time that others deserve, when I'm selfish with my resources, and when I don't focus on the calling on my life. If I see someone in need, whether it be in the lounge or out on the street, and just walk by without doing anything, I compromise who I am and who I am called to be. If I pretend not to see the need around me so as to not have to react, I lose a piece of my identity. When I curse and tell inappropriate jokes or make comments for the sake of humor, I compromise the sense of purity that I feel I am called to have. I often find myself aware of this compromise in the moments directly following the times when I don't live up to the one thing I will. It happens as I walk away from someone, knowing I should have said something more than just hello, or should have sat at a different table in the OR with someone who was eating by themselves, or should have offered something to the man on the street, etc. etc. It is in these moments I most clearly see who I am called to be, and the one thing I will, which is the light that I want to show and share with others.
ReplyDeleteTruly inspiring.
ReplyDeleteThanks Blue.
Wow, I feel bad that mine isn't nearly that cool. having said that, it is no less real or personal to me. I have known for five years now that I will be a film director. I look at my life through that lens, and every interaction I have is another potential scene, a new character to put in one of my screenplays. SO in that sense, because art is a reflection of life, I fail to follow through on that when I fail to live my life, to really live my life. Wasting time, messing around, these are a distraction from my goal. As such, I try to make every minute productive, which, of course, is doomed to failure. But, there I am.
ReplyDeleteEveryday I try to live up to my own standards. Standards that, in fact, I do not really expect for anyone else to live up to all the time because one thing i always try to do is give someone the benefit of the doubt. Everyday I look for and see the radiant glow of the world surrounding me, no matter how repetitive my daily world is.
ReplyDeleteEveryday I try to establish a sense of place for myself.
Contrary to that, a sense of direction. (which i haven't decided if I need or not)
A decisive, not deliberative, place.
So when i make fun of someone, judge someone, half-ass an assignment I know will help me, i deviate from this track.
When I'm too tired or lazy to think of anything good "because there isn't any creative solution for this stupid art homework," and start complaining about my woes, the track is a foot away from me but I refuse to look at it.
And when I feel like i don't belong, as i usually feel, even though I've got plenty of support, likewise.
Finally, I stain that purity of heart when I can't even begin to choose "one thing to will" in a class blog.
I doubt there are any individual characteristics that would single me out. Things that are rare, like the fact that I fence or am joining the army, are not unique. They simply occur few often times that they are something which can be labeled as an individual desire or trait. A sense of humour may be the best analogy for what makes an individual unique. It would be foolish to assume that it my humour entirely unique; a more accurate assessment would be that I have drawn from various sources that I find and have meshed them together to form my own brand of humour. Likewise, I have few characteristics about me that are unique, rather it is the composition of these traits which form me, as an individual.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the latter question, it is, and has been my goal for many years, to help others. Or rather, to help those who put an active and wholehearted attempt into improving themselves or their situation. Generally speaking I can fulfill this, if someone needs money for food I will give it to them almost without hesitation (unless, say, they want me to pay so they can go to a fancy restaurant, which is simply exploitation). If someone asks my advice, or wants me to help them study for a test then I will gladly agree. Additionally, almost all of my long-term decisions are made with assisting others in mind (from joining the military to my desire to go into economics). Yet, there are occasions when I fail to meet my own standards. At times someone will ask for my help and I decline because I am extremely busy or for some other excuse, and it is at times like this where I think about why I did not offer my acceptance. Of course, I am no saint, but by looking at the cause of my failure, I hope to improve and correct myself.
I’m having some trouble articulating this. It seems like an individual will is so personal a thing that it can be hard to put into words because no one but you has ever understood it. Never the less, I’m going to try:
ReplyDeleteWhat makes me an individual, what I will over everything else is to be strong and at peace. In the purity of my heart I want to live. That may sound ridiculous, but it is very easy to get so distracted and overwhelmed by “life” that one does not live.
Whatever higher power put us here only gave us one thing to deal with (and to make the most of) and that is the present instant. These moments and seconds are not unlimited and they are not retrievable once they’re gone. I want to be so clear and pure and strong of a person that I can live and experience these moments and never waste a single one. I want to know in my heart, be strong enough, to know that no matter what, things come and go but I am still me.
I manifest this in my concrete life by spending time just being quiet, by making sure that I remind myself how beautiful the world is and how lucky I am to be living in it. Sometimes I just take a deep breath-- feel the moment and the gratitude that comes with it.
I more frequently compromise this will than act on it. At present, I struggle with the hostile and weak feeling that come with the end of a two-year relationship. In the past few weeks as I have tried to put my heart back together, I have spent more time brooding about the past and the future than celebrating the moment. I am not present because I’ve compromised my inner strength. If there is one thing that will degrade any faith in I have in myself, it is being cheated on by the person on whom I foolishly shaped my self worth.
But, I must confess, I am surprised at my own strength when I step back and take in the larger picture. No matter what happens, right now is beautiful simply because it exists.
I know I must sound totally selfish compared to Phil, but I believe that feeling good about yourself and your life might just be the first step to being able to truly reach out to others.
I am an individual insofar that I promote finding one's personal truth above all else. Everyone should constantly search for the truth.
ReplyDeleteI compromise my identity by not being skeptical enough. I tend to take in without questioning enough. I am too faithful to "authority." I also fall into judging others for not being in the same spot on their truth journey as me.
P.S. If you can figure out the irony in this, feel free to comment.
I feel that im an individual because I do what I want. I do my best every day to live my dreams and make them my reality. I dont have regrets and I strive constantly for excellence.
ReplyDeletePersonally i don't feel that i have ever compromised my identity or ever will, because its my actions that determine my identity, and not the other way around.
I do what feels right, and get fantastic results.
I am an individual trying to be as unique as they come. I try never go with the flow, and I do what I deliberate as being right, not what I am told is right. I am an adrenaline junkie. I have almost died four times and still I do the things I do because I do not fear death; I welcome it and the new experiences it may bring. Don't forget, we all die in the end, so enjoy life while you got it. The way I compromise this way of living is sometimes unfortunatly I get caught up in the flow and just go with it out of lack of inspiration to break the mold. I have never in my memory compromised my adrenaline junkie status. No matter how much fear i held, if I wanted to do something Ive done it.
ReplyDeletePatience is what i will in my heart. I value the virtue of patience and i show respect to the people around me that show this trait.To me, patience is one of the concepts that actually grasp and embody what i visualize the ideal world to be. To be patient is synonymous to having a pure heart and to live life in a calm manner. There is no judgment of the people around you because that calmness of spirit is always there. However, life itself is what makes this attribute a hard one to project. For example, if one of my friends is always having drama and i offer advise without them heeding to it, there comes a time where it's only natural to be fed up. So, i suppose impatience with life itself prevents me from being patient.
ReplyDeleteAfter having read your comments guys, I feel truly inspired. Rikki you made me realize how difficult my question is, how hard it would be to put into words my own will. While Emma reminded me of how important it is that we discover and remain true to our identies at all times, even in the face of suffering however great or small. I was touched.
ReplyDeleteIn light of this, I felt I should attempt to answer my own question.
Well first I would ask myself if I truly will one thing or if I am, as kierkegaard would suspect, double-minded? Do I only wish to will one thing, do I only pretend to the good? This doubt about the purity of my heart festers in my innermost being and I carry it with me at all times. Through the years I have come to realize that my gift is that I can only but doubt. This is who I am. So what am I to make of this doubt before the question of what to will. How can I choose one thing if I doubt all things? In this I realized that my doubt stems from something else; a concern for the good. Passion, love, faith in the good is what causes me to question and search after that good, the object of my desire, the beloved that I seem never to be able to meet but strive after. Simply said, I will the good and in so doing I commit myself to the philosophical life so that I may never compromise my quest, my journey toward the object of my desire.
To be honest though I know that I compromise this identity all the time. Everytime I pretend to know when I do not. Everytime I think I can simply do as I please, or pretend that I know who I am. From the simple things like how to do dishes properly to my ridiculous concerns for my reputation, my image before others. In these moments I often try to remind myself that I have a conceit to knowledge that my reputation matters over my true identity. I try to check this everyday but ultimately I often fail.
Cheers,
Dr. Layne
I do not even know how to begin describing myself as an individual. It seems like anything I could write here could just as easily be applied to someone else. Many other people are obsessed with stop-motion animation, love to learn about how the brain works, or even look like me. I guess one way to define who I am as an individual is the impressions I make on others. Anyone who has ever met me will have their own idea of who I am, and that impression I make is unique to me. Even if they don't know my name, I will always be "that ONE person" in their minds.
ReplyDeleteIt is also hard for me to say what I will. I guess I could say that I will to be me. I take actions because I believe they are the right option and because it is what I want. Every time I do something because it is what I want or believe, it is an expression who I am. However, I compromise this when I act based on other's beliefs either to appease them and avoid conflict or simply because I feel too lazy to put up a fight. These times that I am not acting on my beliefs I am attempting to be someone else to a degree and am denying my true self. If I act based on who others want me to be then I am not following through with my will to be myself.
I will myself to always enjoy what I'm doing or experiencing, even in the dreariest of days. I hate the feeling that I could be wasting any portion of my life doing something that doesn't bring me any joy. By not having fun, I'm taking everything that was ever given to me or that I worked toward for granted. I compromise my will and desire when I feel sorry for myself. I realize that sometimes sorrow is inevitable, but I'm talking about in the small instances of everyday. I also compromise my will when I envy the situations of others. In my opinion, this is also taking what I already possess for granted.
ReplyDeleteI do the wrong things. I certainly say the wrong things. I never follow the crowd. but it's not really because of some conscious decision of will power; it's usually just because I can't find them. I have a pension for creeping people out, and I'm convinced that I'm not looking at the same world that everyone else is looking at. I'm pretty sure that my whole general persona is what makes me an individual. I'm often perceived as odd, and in all honesty, I am a little odd, but it makes things colorful.
ReplyDeleteI have a genuine love for people, and I mean ALL people. My will is to care for them and help them see the same world that I have been priveledged to catch glimpses of. I wish I could say this out of true selflessness, but the truth is that I can't feel good about myself unless I know that I have touched someone's life in a meaningful way. I want to be that person that people know that they can come to. More than anything, I want people to trust me, and I want to make them realize that they matter and that, by virtue of their existence, they are worthy of love. Some of my closest friends have been people that most people overlook. People that come from jail or the streets, people that society says are too different to be held in regard. In meeting and getting to know these people, I have gained a respect for humanity as a whole. My love for people makes life worth living. Every day is a new opportunity to reach out and to find someone who is in need but maybe too afraid or ashamed to ask for help.
I'd love to say that I take this opportunity all the time, but I compromise my identity when I shy away from reaching out for fear that I will get no response or for fear that my help is unwanted. I pass people by and later regret it. I shut people out for fear that they wont like what I have to offer, when in reality, I'm the one missing out on the opportunity to meet another person that may end up being a close companion.
The things I want out of life have changed and are continuing to change, but the one thing that will always stay the same is will to know others and to let them know me, whoever "me" turns out to be
I will myself to be an example for others. I have always acted as the older brother and often advised people on how they should act for their own benefit. For example, one of my best friends would literally procrastinate until the last two minutes before an assignment is due to do it. I always scolded him to be more punctual. Consciously, I know that procrastinating doesn't help any situation, but I compromise this ideal by sometimes procrastinating on projects/assignments because I am too tired or for whatever reason.
ReplyDeleteWhat I will in relation to my heart is something I hold personally. I always will the ideal that one should always take the risk of asking that girl out. Instead, what happened many times in my life is that I found out that the girl he liked was also the girl I liked. I still held true to my conscious by telling him to ask her out regardless of how much I was actually hurting myself. I believe that life is about making compromises, and in this case, I compromised that my friend's happiness meant more to him than mine did.
What I will does not completely define my life, but it does define my identity. Because I present myself as one who always preaches good ideals that help the person be happy, I give up my own happiness in return. I believe that in this world, there is a concept of equivalent exchange in many cases. In this case, for my friend's happiness to prosper, I sacrificed my own because I believe that others' liveliness is worth more than my own happiness.
I hope this answered the question...
I will myself toward happiness, or, perhaps more appropriately, what I perceive will lead me to happiness. I push myself to fight through the unhappiness and the angst, the depression and the anxiety, and I strive to make the best of whatever situations I find myself in. I try I hate to admit that I put my own wants and needs before others, that I tend to decide what's best for me and then, even if the decision isn't necessarily what's best for others, I continue to work towards that goal. Is this intentional? I'm not sure, but it is these instances in which I compromise my will; I create for others a situation in which I would never want to be stuck in myself, and by doing this I often leave them in a state of unfortunate loss and unhappiness.
ReplyDeleteI have dreamed for the last four years of being nothing but a professional, well-respected musician. I spent the last four years perfecting my own work, writing music with multiple bands in multiple genres in an attempt to build up my own abilities in songwriting across the board and musicianship. I wanted nothing but to a famous musician, a well-known artist in an awesome band with a bunch of hits. And in my quest to make this dream a reality I became a musical elitist of sorts, believing my music to be the best their was when, in actuality, a lot of it was immature and rudimentary. I spent so much time in the pursuit of learning how to make myself a professional, well-trained, talented musician and compromised all of it by ignoring my training and doing everything my own way, perceiving my "originality" as a way to really make it.
I love questions like these! Although it is difficult to answer without a little bit of extra information.
ReplyDeleteIn my mind, I contemplate the absurdity of existence. I find that human existence will all surmount to nothingness. We strive to know as much as we possibly can, i.e. going to school and working for our entire lives. But after we reach that goal of knowing all there is to know, what else? Why should we learn or work? To continue our own existence? Perhaps we work and educate in order to obtain happiness? Why do we want happiness? In the grand scale of the universe, humans, and earth, are just a grain of sand in the metaphorical desert that is the universe. What we think is "everything" may not be "everything."
To me, to be an individual is to simply live life as one wills and to, obviously, occupy physical space. One must know that one can have original thoughts and original actions and behavior. This means that any outside influences can affect one's individuality, because these thoughts are not original. They are somebody else's messages incorporated into your own. This even includes subliminal messages. Therefore, I believe that it is difficult if not impossible to even be an "individual" anymore. For example, when a trend is set, usually to be individualistic is to not follow the trend. But that in itself may not be individualistic at all, because, chances are, if you had the idea of going against the norm, there are at most six billion other people who have the potential to think the same exact thing. Everybody is a copy of somebody from somewhere and sometime.
With all that in mind, I honestly end up rather misanthropic :'(. It is difficult for me to warm up to any particular person, because it is difficult for me to get rid of my perspective on people. I compromise my own absurd thoughts of individuality and humanity by simply being human. I work and I study. I get an education in order to get a good job, which I will use to fuel the masses, to further humanity's existence little by little, inching it towards futile happiness. Furthermore, most of my thoughts and habits are not original. Though I try to set my own trends, dress my own style, come up with my own personal philosophy ("Being nice is never out of style! ^_^") but in the end there is a one-in-six-billion chance (about the number of people in the world) that nobody else in the world will have these same exact thoughts. Websites, TV shows, clothing stores, and even other people that I associate with all influence my personality one way or another.
I am ever changing, not for anyone, just because it follows my personality. I can be driven and do my work, I can go out and have a good time, I can be concerned and a good listener, I can be anything if the situation calls for it, but not to fit the situation I am in. I'm a chameleon in the sense I can adjust, but just because I can, doesn't mean I will. I'm stubborn and set in my ways, so its hard for others to change me. This stubbornness can sometimes be my downfall, I like my comfortable feeling. That probably explains why I was in a relationship with one girl for three years in high school, and why I stuck with the same group of friends since middle school. But I must branch out, I must put myself out there, and because I am so driven about my future, I am confident I can.
ReplyDeleteMy life, my individual being, revolves around a pursuit for truth. Every day, I find myself inspired by the people and situations I encounter and the pieces of others' lives I witness. When I was younger, I wanted to be a performer, just because I wanted to have a part in spreading that inspiration, that piece of truth that I've found is hidden in everything, to others. Later (now), I see my role as storyteller, spreading what I find to others so that they can explore their beliefs and emotions on their own. In a way, I find service in that kind of communication, allowing people to see the universality and diversity present in experience. That is how I plan to help others, and it causes me to define and redefine myself, to break down and heal over and over again.
ReplyDeleteIn high school, I was a columnist for the school paper. The night before my article was due, I was talking to my best friend about a breakup she'd experienced nearly two years before. While she expressed her disappointment with his treatment of the girl he was currently dating, I scoured quote sites, trying to find something to write about. I stumbled upon a quote by Catherine Ponder: “When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.” I then asked my friend if she'd forgiven her ex and if she thought that kept her from being truly free of him. She answered that she hadn't forgiven him, and she'd wondered why she was still so wrapped up in his life when he'd treated her so horribly. I had my piece. After publication, I got fifteen emails from people talking about how they'd never seen forgiveness in that light and how their grudges had worn away a large part of their time and energy. In that moment, I realized the interconnectivity in ideas and communication, and how a collective hunt for something true can unite so many people.
I compromise myself by focusing on...myself--by forgetting about the truth and the service and drawing attention directly for me. I communicate to share ideas, not to promote my standing in others' eyes, and I often fail, catching myself with such an intention. I also fail every time I am too scared for my reputation and follow a crowd I don't think is right or too apathetic to care about an issue that affects people I consider distant. It took me a long time to come to terms with this, and I struggle for balance every day in my actions.
P.S. I'm floored by the amount of raw honesty in the above comments. Y'all are awesome people.
This question is actually difficult for me to answer..I am not sure if I can sum up who I am in words but I will say that writing this blog is making me contemplate so much about myself as an individual.
ReplyDeleteNonetheless, I will to always do the best that I can in every aspect of my life whether it means giving my best in my school work, being there for friends in time of need or simply reaching out to those in need. I will to make a positive impact on those I encounter, I will to let go of my selfish desires and needs and while not forgetting what I want in life(my goals) try to balance this with making a positive impact on the people in my life. I will to put others first.
I am certainly not perfect and find myself compromising my will many a times. When I get caught up in my own life and decide not to go to Hunger relief (LUCAP program) because I'm too busy. I forget momentarily what I truly want in life which is to help others and give in to "me". I have to constantly remind myself of what I want to do and I try desperately to match these with my actions. Recently I have been really homesick,and as a result I may be there physically with my friends but not in my mind and now writing this blog makes me realize that I am again compromising my will. I am concentrating only on the me and not realizing that I need to let go of a "selfish desire" to go home and instead continue to always do my best. As i put my thoughts into words I now will to appreciate the little things in life, to appreciate life itself, to be happy and therefore to be able to be at my best and make a positive impact on others.
I can go on and on describing and as Emma said I too feel selfish as in this very blog I focused on myself but only to improve myself and therefore be able to affect others in a postitive light.
First and foremost, my individuality comes from my drive to succeed. In fact, just today my worldview was thoroughly questioned by relatively new acquaintances I had met during lunch. I ate with four individuals who majored in theater and music simply because it is their passion and has remained so for quite some time. When asked about my major, I received the usual reaction science majors get. They asked me if I liked science and if this was the reason why I wished to pursue it. At first, the reason I picked science as my major was because it was one of the few subjects I understood. What I didn’t understand was the commitment required. Long story short, I told them my post undergrad plans of going to dental school. When I was inquired as to why dental school, I replied with one word; money. Although this may seem like a shallow perspective on success, salary/money being a standard for it, realistically that is what society drives us to believe success truly is. The actual idea that they posed to me was whether success was truly measured by wealth, or by the appreciation and satisfaction one gets from having a career that they truly enjoy. And although I am days behind in most of my courses, been sleep deprived for the past two weeks, and struggling to find the time needed to meet the requirements of all my credit hours, my drive to success is what keeps me going, it is what keeps telling me to not quit and to wait out until the work for my success has eventually paid off. But this identity requires extreme commitment, commitment that I compromise daily and more so on the weekends. Indulgences that were not as present in my previous academic career have truly stained this concept of a “pure heart”. But although temptations that hinder my identity are all around me, I do believe that my individuality will eventually persevere among all else.
ReplyDeleteI will myself to always tell the truth no matter what the situation. That being said, I don't always follow it. Sometimes I tell a lie so someone's feelings don't get hurt. At times I lie by omission. Once or twice I've even done it unintentionally. Each time I compromise my will through a series of half truths, misteps, or outright lies, I wonder if it's just that my will is in accordance with my reason or if my goal is an impossibility. Is it practical, worthwhile, or even plausible for one to tell the truth all of the time?
ReplyDelete^^sorry about how short it is. I don't really think deep thoughts :/