Aptitude for change
Ralph Emerson Waldo entices his readers to depend on yourself when it comes to your thoughts
and actions. To not conform to the nature of the many and follow your intuition. To accept and grasp
the potential for change. Emerson explains how that is a very valued power. Without embracing
change or having the ability to think for yourself, advancements for the better will never be made.
Emerson encourages us to think and speak for ourselves but still be aware of our surroundings.
No profit earned by another's work can be calmly bestowed upon you. You can't take credit for
another's work without the consequences that come from your thoughts. You are at the mercy of your
own mind and to disrupt that would be the making of your own punishment. To work for what you
have and to feel you have earned it offers true relief and security. There is no greater feeling than
being acknowledged for the work you put in that led to your success or got you on the path to
your success. Working your hardest does come with its tribulations but the outcome is even more
triumphant. For we cannot appreciate the sun without the rain.
Accommodating your thoughts and actions to suit the ideas of others would be the death of your
independence. In society, majority does rule with the reign of an iron fist. But you must not comply to
the prevailing standards that is society or nature. I don't believe Emerson is abolishing the idea of
relying on someone or something. He is simply stating in a complex manner to be your own person
and be responsible for your own decisions.
We as humans are adaptable, but we don't like change. A reason we don't like change is we get
comfortable where we're at. Even if our current situation isn't perfect or even the best we accept it
because it's familiar. But what people don't understand is that change is inevitable. We as humans
prefer to stay in a mundane state of mind because anything beyond is misunderstood and people are
scared of what they don't understand. I believe one of the statements Emerson is trying to make is to
expand your horizons and keep an open mind to anything because change is inevitable and you have
to be ready for it.
"With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do" Emerson stated in his excerpt from
"Self-Reliance". Most people don't take witness to their full or even some of their potential because
they are stuck in their own routine that is comfortability. Emerson says to say or do something
tomorrow even if it contradicts what you say today. Don't go against your own moral values but learn
to accept what others value and keep an open mind to new principles if you are not satisfied with
what you have. Be charismatic with your independent mind and ideas. We live and breathe as a whole
but are different because we each have our own individual purpose.
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