There is a concept out there, of "being all that we can
be." The idea is expressed in different ways, and even
shows up in various religions. I would summarize it this
way in my own words: in order to achieve full joy in
this life, we must strive to accomplish everything good
that we are capable of accomplishing given our personal
circumstance. Wordy, I know, but I'm trying to extract
the essence out of a few words and express them as
fully as I know how. Decompress the concept I guess.
In my own mind, I run into a few issues with this. First
of all, the caveat of "our own personal circumstance."
The "all that we *can* be" caveat if you will. What "can"
we be, vs. what "can't" we be, and who sets the limits?
One might say "I can't be in the airforce, because my
eyesight is poor and I have health problems." I suppose
there are legitimate limitations for each of us in this
life. But I believe there are illegitimate excuses as
well, and I feel like we crutch on those much more
frequently than we pine over the legitimate ones.
One of the illegitimate excuses, or "weak" excuses, that
I feel comes up frequently is the idea that we can't do
something because it isn't accepted by society. I want
to express that carefully, because I feel there are limits
that we place on ourselves and others as a society that
are good, and there are limitations that we create that
are not good. But let's assume that an individual intends
to do as much good in this world, in the way that they know
how, and we aren't talking about hedonistic self-pleasure.
Such an individual accepts societal rules, but often times
they also accept societal limitations, imagining that they
are somehow related and also good.
To get to the point, I'm considering pursuing some paths
in life that aren't as traditional, customary, or expected.
I don't feel the paths are bad ones, in fact I believe that
they could be very good ones in many ways; yet, they are not
what one might "expect" from me. My mind is whispering (not
screaming, and it does that to me sometimes too) that perhaps
I shouldn't explore these paths because they aren't
run-of-the-mill, tried-and-true, and time-tested. Something
in me limits my exploration, with warnings that others might
not understand, or that others might judge, or that perhaps
others might not accept.
But what about "being all that we can be?" Is that to be
limited by what others will allow me to be? Should I be only
what is expected or understood? Should I pursue only those
courses that lead to known ends, never striving beyond what
is mundane and trite?
Another part of me rebels against this thought. Some more
wild and less reasonable part of me thrashes about and
curses the chains of expectation and ideal. A part of me
longs to explore my bounds, learn the limits for itself,
pushing against everything that would hold it back.
There's a case that is in my mind that is unsettled. It is
both simple and incredibly deep, and I won't share it in
this context for fear that it would dilute the thought. I'm
not sure how it will turn out, but I'm determined to make
the decision about fulfilling my own potential, and not
about satisfying artificial limits.
