“We train our eyes to be constantly looking outward, never inward, and completely lose sight of who we are and what we’re doing.” This is the sentence that impresses me the most from Emily Warren’s TED talk entitled The Myth of Self-discovery. Indeed, we always focus on the kind of persons we expect ourselves to become rather than on the way we originally are. The expectations sometimes may make us lose ourselves instead.
This speech reminded me of a Japanese drama named Flowers for Algernon, which is an adaptation of a novel. The leading role of this works is a man with a low IQ of 68. Due to his intellectual disability, his mother has abandoned him since he was a child. Therefore, he always lives in the expectation that as long as he become smarter, others will like him more. One day, fortunately, after a brain surgery, he changes from a mentally disabled person to a genius. However, as he becomes smarter, he begins to doubt those around him. He believes that everyone around him approaches him with bad purpose, and thus he becomes not so happy as he used to be…….
From Flowers for Algernon, I learned that only when we are true to ourselves can we be truly alive. We always imagine that our lives must become better if we have the qualities we like or obtain what we want. Nevertheless, things will not necessarily be the same as we expect. Just like the leading role of Flowers for Algernon, he thinks his life must be better if he can be smarter, but as he become the way he wants, he also loses something essential in life - being trusting and happy. Thus, in my opinion, we should accept the way we originally are and have confidence in it.
However, I don't mean that we should always be satisfied with our current condition and don't pursue breakthroughs. As human beings, we must change to grow and to become better. I think the key to achieving this is to live in the moment. To live is to experience. By trying hard to live to the fullest and to feel every moment, we can find out what we truly take pleasure in. Moreover, living in the present can help us not to be limited in the expectations others or we ourselves make, and thus discover our potential strengths. Therefore, I think I should learn to appreciate every qualities I have now and be engaged in anything I do.
What do you mean by "being true to yourself?" Your other statements like, "live in the moment... feel every moment... and live in the present," are interesting yet vague. I am curious about what's in your mind when you wrote these as your reflections.
回覆刪除