Yes, I know… those of you that go back a few years recognize the
above (miss) quote as one of many great “Yogi-isms”… The late, great Yogi
Berra, of baseball fame but sometimes in real, as opposed to surreal, life we have
to reshape ourselves into who we truly are and not as what someone else would
like us to be.
Anything you may read on these posts
can only be attributable to this sometimes functioning mind… but, after all, sporadic
brilliancy is better than permanent mediocrity… no? What do you mean with such a resounding no!
answer? This is too much of an absolute
answer for my addled sensors; there has been a lot of pressure this week, you
know?
I stand accused of being a dreamer
and, admittedly, this is an accusation which can be said is truth based. What
makes some of us dreamers, some of us doers, some of us leaders and some of us followers?
The human individual character, as defined by many who know much more than I
about these issues is made up of part genetics and part upbringing (family, society, etc.). So, in a sense
we could easily be at least partially predestined to be who we, in the sum
total of the concept, are.
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| A bit of each... |
On my mother’s side of the family,
there were/are more doers than dreamers. On my father’s side is about split (those I do know, who are not many). My
maternal grandfather, who basically raised me, was a dreamer/doer. He dreamed
many projects, knowing in his heart they could be accomplished. Several he did
have the chance to complete, others were cut short by the change in his
adoptive country’s ideology and government. My father, on the other hand, never
seemed to be able to fully develop his very constant dreams. In the last few
years leading to his death he was subsisting decently, but without extras.
What did one have that the other did
not? What of each have I inherited? Can
any of us change who we are, at the core of ourselves, in order to better
please others? Should we even try?
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| Sometimes with a little help |
Looking at modern man and the
concept of societal rules and controls (too
cursory a look, I do realize…) it seems there has always been a necessity of
an amalgam of characters needed in order to make up the life-motor which does
move these societies into a forward (or
backwards, as may be sometimes claimed) motion. Most accomplishments have
started with a basic dream, which is then brought to reality with the help of
those who can manipulate the means necessary to do so, usually under the aegis
of a leader who may have a visionary capacity. And yes, let’s not forget the
work of the many that may not have the capacity to dream or lead, but who can
do all the detailed work needed to actually, physically, convert the dream into
a reality.
But, to go back to the questions
posed in an earlier paragraph… In my case, I have inherited several of the basic
traits of both sides of my family tree. So this could be called a multi-branched,
well leafed (except at the treetop, where
it has been thinning somewhat steadily) exercise in genetics. Definitely,
my father passed on to me, without the benefit of having had his presence
during my formative years, several of his more desirable traits, as well as a
compendium of some less desirable ones. From my mother and her parents, came
some of the genetic shaping which has helped me survive on more than one occasion
in life; these came by upbringing and role-modeling as well. Which of these two
factors was more important in the shaping of my early persona? I’ll leave the full
answer to that question to the more informed folks. I can only offer my belief
that it was about even. Then, my father’s genetic-only influence should have had
a lesser overall impact, right? It didn’t. As said before, there are very
strong traits in me which are directly traceable to him. Some perhaps my life would
be better off without, but they still are a part of me.
Which brings me to the other
questions:
·
Can
any of us change who we are, at the core of ourselves, in order to better
please others?
·
Should
we even try?
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| Dreaming is lonely sometimes |
On the first question, my experience
has been very personal; after having had a real go at this possibility, I can
state without exaggeration that the results have been negative enough to be
called “horrendous”… It was not a half baked try, for it involved a number of
attempted changes within my core belief system, as well as within my socio-culturally
learned behavior. For a time I became someone else; no, it wasn’t an issue of
being Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde… none of this… However, these changes created
circumstances which lead to making important decisions without thinking through
to the expected real/potential results, something that was totally against my cultural
and business training as well as personal inclinations. Like this, there were
other subtle and not so subtle changes in previous behavior patterns. And, yes,
this all involved the concept of trying to better please others.
Now, after several years, the realization
that what one is, cannot be truly changed (it
may be somewhat modified, but not changed at the belief core) is helping
reshape my life around my old self… Which very neatly brings me to the second
question above and, as far as I am concerned, the answer should be a resounding
No!, for in trying to change his or her inner core as a person, an individual
will function from that moment on at odds with himself or herself, never truly
being able to achieve a personal comfort zone.
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| Every finished canvass... begins with a vision |
Have my dreams been projected to
reality? Some have along the way; others remain to be completed. And they will
be, for part of being a dreamer is to be able to see and feel the final and
detailed picture, as it were, long before it has taken actual shape.
You dream, you feel, you imagine
what is to be and then, that image is slowly woven into a reality… Perhaps
being a dreamer is not well seen by some, but what is true is that without that
initial, sustained dream… there will never be that finalized reality.
If I get into these topics again,
please shut me up!!
Be Well… Be Back!!
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