Oh, you!

Logic was my favorite class that I took in college. I took it to fulfill my Humanities credit requirement. It was taught out of the Philosophy department, but the class was more like figuring out math puzzles. It wasn’t a lot of writing, like I had expected, but still, I loved it. I actually looked forward to the out-of-class work. Most of my Logic class was working out proofs such as: if A=B, and B=C, then it follows that A=C. I like it when I can get out of my emotionality, and I am able to look at situations with my clear, logical mind. I like it when things make sense.

So, using my most logical part of my mind, I confidently make this statement: It is illogical to ever feel insecure in yourself. Why? Because you are one-of-a-kind. There is no one in this world who is or was, exactly the same as you. Even if you are an identical twin, it is impossible for you both to have experienced the exact same experiences, with the same exact consequences every single second of your individual lives.

No one ever says, “That’s the best Mona Lisa.” Why? Because there is only ONE authentic Mona Lisa. Now some people may not be impressed with the Mona Lisa. So what? Some people may like other paintings better. Again, so what? Some people may think that the Mona Lisa is the greatest painting that exists in this world. And again, so what? There are no other Mona Lisas in this world. There may be imitations of the Mona Lisa, but that’s just it, they are just imitations. A painting can be judged to be the closest imitation to the Mona Lisa that exists, but then that just makes that particular painting, itself – “the best imitation of the Mona Lisa.” And the Mona Lisa still stands as THE Mona Lisa.

There is no true competition. Yes, there are games in our lives that we compete in, and there are job offers that are limited to one recipient, and on Black Friday, one person may beat out you for that last doorbuster $50 HDTV. But those are just competitions experienced throughout your one unique life. No one else will have the same exact series of competitions played out in their lives. You will win some. You will lose some. So what?

When we feel insecure it brings out the worst in us, doesn’t it? Jealousy, passive aggressiveness, control, anger, meanness, pettiness, cruelty, usually comes out our own shadows when we are feeling “less than”, or badly about ourselves. Do you find it hard to be kind when you, yourself, are feeling on top of the world? Of course not! It’s easy when we are feeling great to only notice daisies and rainbows and cute puppies and cupcakes for everyone! But on a bad day, that jackass who rode by in his beautiful, brand new Ferrari probably got that “over-the-top/too flashy” car undeservedly from ill-gotten funds, right? Doesn’t he know that his Ferrari’s cost could probably feed a dozen hungry children for years and years on end?? So you are justified in snidely cutting him off, or smirking when he gets pulled over in a traffic stop, right?

Is it possible that Ferrari guy, is a self-made person who created a wonderful company out of his garage that now provides a comfortable lifestyle for hundreds of families with newly created jobs? Is it possible that Ferrari guy gives more to charities than you will even make in your lifetime? Is it possible that Ferrari guy is a spoiled rotten, trust fund baby who inherited all of his money from his great-grandfather, who was a mafia kingpin? Again, the answer to all of these questions is: so what? What has that got to do with you, Mona Lisa? You are Mona Lisa. Keep your nose in your own one-of-a-kind life, Mona. No one else gets to live it but you. What are you doing with your one and only life? You can get inspired by Ferrari guy if you want to, or you can be disgusted with him, if you want, as well. You, alone, are feeling that sense of inspiration or that pit of disgust in this moment that you are reading this sentence.

Again, I repeat my logical supposition: There is no “you” better than you. There is no “you” worse than you. You are you. You are the only you. It is illogical to ever feel insecure in yourself because there is no other “you” to compare yourself to, nor will there ever be. Even if you are cloned, it will be impossible for your clone to experience the exact set of experiences, relationships, coincidences, lucky breaks, and consequences to actions than you are experiencing in this time period. If you can see my supposition to be true, does it follow that Ferrari guy shouldn’t be a blip in your mind? Does it follow that your own authenticity is inimitable, as hard as the imitators may try? Does it make sense to try to be an imitator when you, yourself, are a one-of-a-kind treasure? Does it do good to remember that every single being you come across today, including every blade of grass that you walk on, is a one-of-a-kind treasure never to be repeated again? The Mona Lisa is protected by great, complicated security measures. Millions of people around the world spend money to spend a couple of minutes gazing at her, for maybe once in their lifetimes. All you have to do, right now, is to look in the mirror in order to see something at least, as precious and as rare as THE Mona Lisa.

Try to go through life just for today, applying my logical supposition. Is it possible that the world could appear wholly different to you with this logical lens? You may say, “So what?” And that’s fine. Your responses are uniquely yours and these responses will determine how you experience your one and only precious life, and they also will determine how others experience you. If you believe that you needn’t ever feel insecure again (because of the logical proof which shows that it is silly to do so), than your shadow side will have a much harder time popping out of your psyche, with all of the simple, beautiful, logical light shining brightly upon it.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Monday Fun-Day

Image

(credit: Rex Masters Twitter)

We had taken down some artwork when we switched around our bedrooms this past spring. There was a print that had been hanging in my daughter’s room, which I had always liked, but she considered it too childish for her evolving teenage tastes. The print had been done by an artist from the past, named H. Willebeek Lemair. Lemair was a Dutch artist who later changed her name to “Saida.” Her artwork mostly depicts women and children and has a fanciful, cartoonish quality.

The wonderful thing about the internet, is that it is like having an art gallery right in the palm of your hands. The picture inspired me to peruse the internet for other pieces of Lemair’s art, which lead me to artists who had similar styles of painting, to hers. I started printing out any pictures which I really liked, to paste into my calendar and into my inspirational notebooks. In the end, I had a little pile of about ten pictures that moved me. What turned out to be the biggest surprise of my little exercise, was the insight which I received when I looked through the pictures that I had printed out. I thought that I had printed the artwork, with no real rhyme or reason. They were just individual pictures that had visually moved me, more than any others which I had perused. Interestingly, it turns out that the majority of the paintings (created by a variety of artists), depicted young women reading books. All but one of the pictures, had at least one book as a focal point in the painting. Unbeknownst to the conscious part of me, there was a real, true “theme” to my collection.

I think that our passions and purposes, pop out of us, every which way they can. Our passions are hard to contain, even when we try to tamp them down or to change them. The deepest part of ourselves sends hints to us, all of the time, if we take the time to be “self sleuths.” I have read that if you are having trouble figuring out your deepest passions and motivations, try to remember what you most liked to do as a child. When we were children, we were less conditioned by our experiences and the world around us. Our passions played more innocently on the surface, when we were young kids. Follow what really grasps your attention during your daily activities, and ask yourself “why?” and then, take your time to explore the answer. Keep a dream journal. Our subconscious is quiet, but persistent. It begs to be noticed, if we look for the clues.

Finding Yourself Is Not Really How It Works - Tiny Buddha | Inspirational  quotes, Spiritual quotes, Life quotes

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.