What is "being yourself?"

what i meant by being influenced and living through other people is that some people mimic what they see on tv, paris hilton for example, and that sure as hell isnt being yourself. Clothing and style influences i reckon are fine cause you can mix and match until you find something that you like and something that can be unique for you. see where im try to go with this?

 

Exactly. It's all a process-oriented mystery. I don't think the point is to arrive at an answer. But to keep inquiring.

 

Yeah, I understand. The latter would be a healthy type of "influence." But it is often hard for me to differentiate the two.

Sometimes I get lost. And I need to get back in touch with my autonomous feelings.

I struggled with it the whole day matter-of-fact. And it really curbed my productivity.

 

That makes sense.

 

Sometimes what you strive to be and what you are get into a conflict.

It's hard to know when to live with it and when to deal with it.

 

I think being yourself means mainly being satisfied with yourself, feeling comfortable with yourself.

 

The dichotomy between the ‘you’ that is created by the physical determinations of your particular brain and the ‘you’ that is created by the fluid cultural determinations that surround your particular brain is wonderful point of interest in determining exactly who ‘you’ are.

The notion of change is a fun one to dance around as well. It’s fun to think about because at the end of the day we’re bombarded with a constant flux in both our physically and culturally influential worlds. The physical properties that make up ‘you’ are constantly regenerating. Our bodies completely, on a cellular level, regenerate every seven years, which makes you the fourth incarnation of yourself at the age of thirty. You’re the fourth you yet you are quintessentially the same ‘you’. And on the cultural level the input is in even more flux, there is infinite flux, no two situations are alike. You can walk to the spot by a river but you will never ever stand by the same river twice. That principle can be applied to every single sense experience you have. So what are we left with? The exact same philosophical dilemmas and paradoxes that have been around from before Aristotle in 350 B.C.

I think the best thing to do is just to ignore the problems and mysteries inherent in pondering identity. Convince yourself it’s just a fascinating historical anecdote, its sophomoric, its a question with no answer. Just forget about it and ignore the practical problems that are staring you right flipping straight in the eye. Free yourself to free ‘you’r self.

 

Yeah, the ignoring...the refusing to think too far...

Is a way to gain innocence and spontaneity. Whenever pondering who we are, we lose who we are.

And whenever searching for outcome too.