The Inner Self
Man is necessarily a complex entity with multiple layers to his identity. As man lives through in this world, he accumulates a different identitiy for himself. He no longer remains the same person that he once was. This is necessarily owing to the fact that the worldly strife completely transforms an individual. It renders him into an entity that is completely suited for the worldly needs; whilst erasing the original identity with which he came into this world. Thus we often see that whenever we meet anyone after a lapse of many years, we find that the person has indeed changed so remarkably that he no longer resembles the individual that he once was. This is essentially owing to the fact that the human being evolves with his surroundings and adapts to the ever-changing world outside.
Evolution, even though a relative term in itself is defined precisely. Evolution is a journey of self-enrichment; it is a journey of progress. Progress is once again a relative term. What I may term as progress might not sound so great to another person; for ever person values different kinds of achievements. The worldly strife is but a means to turn some of our dreams into reality. However in this process of apparent progress; in this process of self-enrichment, many times it occurs to us that we indeed forget our true identities in the pursuit of new ones. We forget who we truly are as we go on incessantly seeking more and more. In a bid to find the perfect way of living in this world, we forget that within ourselves, our spirit dies a silent death.
The world is essentially a hostile place. It is a place where every decision is taken based on shrewd intellect. It is a place that demands you to be as hostile as itself; for in order to survive in the jungle, you have to be an animal. Thus man is slowly transformed into a ruthless, self-centered beast; and the noble and benevolent spirit, which once rested in regality within, now finds itself to be a prisoner of greed and lust. Thus man on his own accord kills the noble child that resides within him; to surivive in the world outside; he voluntarily murders the innocence within himself as he prepares a new identity to help him survive the worldly strife.
However, the key factor that man overlooks is the fact that the worldly identity cannot provide him with any peace and satisfaction; for inherently it is a personality that is based upon incessant desire, greed and self-centered aspirations. Thus the derived personality in itself has subtle undertones of perpetual dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is a desirable aspect in worldly life, for it enable a person to go ahead and strive for excellence. Yet when the moment comes to finally sit back and enjoy the benefits of the hard labor that the individual accomplished through the years, he can hardly do so. The derived worldly persona does not know what it means to be at peace; for it is always at war in the world outside. Thus the individual himself can get little satisfaction even after working his whole life to gain the comforts and luxuries that he so desired. In the end, the individual realizes that he was much happy when he had none of those luxuries; atleast at that point in time, he had himself; he had his spirit; he could experience the joy of the simple things in life;
Thus the point of the matter remains, that even though the world expects you to be someone else, never forget who you truly are. For in the end, that inner self is going to be your lasting mate in this journey of life…
Illustration: “Grainne Dreaming” – John Moore
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Tags: life, spirituality, stress
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January 17, 2010 11:00 pm
