“Man is the only creature that refuses to be what he is.” – Albert Camus
During the continuing convoluted upheaval of what we discerning call our life, we find ourselves in a very perculiar place. For some of us, this seems to repeat itself with accented regularity, and touches every aspect of our existence. Are you asking at this moment what place that might be? In the quote of Albert Camus, it appears . . . “we refuse to be who we are.” And you thought, you were tackling everything with the expertise of a refined “patrician.” For reasons we may not consciously understand, the script we had outlined for ourselves has gone egregiously askew. What happened? Oscar Wilde figured it out when he said, “The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”
Look around, do you see the human condition from a perspective of enlightenment or obscurity? Our individual perception is subjective, given the basic tenets of our orientation and environment. I know, we figure we have plenty of time to find out who we really are, or maybe someone else will do the obligatory work for us. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Our lives can and will change in an instant, preparedness does make sense given what is at stake. It was Heraclitus who simply stated, “Nothing endures but change.”
It takes a great deal of foresight, courage, understanding, willingness, dignity, integrity, character and resolve to delve consciously into what Joseph Campbell so beautifully stated, “Your sacred space is where you find yourself, again and again.” As time slips away, so does that treasured essence . . . you. JLR