Food for Thought:
Marianne Schnall interview with Maya Angelou, Huffington Post Feb. 17 2009
MS: Just yesterday I interviewed Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai. At one point she talked about the importance of knowing yourself. She said, "Sometimes we become bound by other people's thoughts because we are not sure about ourselves" and that "when you know who you are you are free." Do you agree? And how does one go about discovering who we are, and living ones life authentically, with so many stereotypes and influences on us?
MA: Well, I think that we see how we can fall and rise. You see, we may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat, so that we can know who we are. So that we can see, oh, that happened, and I rose. I did get knocked down flat in front of the whole world, and I rose. I didn't run away - I rose right where I'd been knocked down. And then that's how you get to know yourself. You say, hmm, I can get up! I have enough of life in me to make somebody jealous enough to want to knock me down. I have so much courage in me that I have the effrontery, the incredible gall to stand up. That's it. That's how you get to know who you are.
MA: Well, I think that we see how we can fall and rise. You see, we may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated. It may even be necessary to encounter the defeat, so that we can know who we are. So that we can see, oh, that happened, and I rose. I did get knocked down flat in front of the whole world, and I rose. I didn't run away - I rose right where I'd been knocked down. And then that's how you get to know yourself. You say, hmm, I can get up! I have enough of life in me to make somebody jealous enough to want to knock me down. I have so much courage in me that I have the effrontery, the incredible gall to stand up. That's it. That's how you get to know who you are.
If you want to be happy, be. ~Leo Tolstoy
The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up. ~Mark Twain
Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things, or more money, in order to do more of what they want, so they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do, in order to have what you want. ~Margaret Young
This blog is such a cool idea.
ReplyDeleteThe quotes and information contained in this first blog post run deep into the topic of Joy (thank you, Anne, for cutting right away into the meat of things). I recognized this the minute I read the material because it reverberated deep within me and I realized that many of the happy or joyful moments in my life came when I was able to do the things mentioned here.
Particularly interesting to me is the idea of knowing one's self before happiness and joy can find a place. This, I think, has been a struggle for me my whole life. I've often had siblings tell me that if I could just learn to be confident with who I was then the fledgling coolness and creativity within me would have a chance to really bloom and prosper. At the time (and many times since then) I would agree with them. But I still struggle to accomplish the desired result of confidence with who I am, a lot of times because as mentioned I'm still struggling to find out who I am, which I would need to know before I could gain confidence, right? Or maybe not? Maybe I just say that I'll love myself and then wait to see what cool and interesting part of me (which already and always existed) decides to finally show itself?
And if I do find it (self-love, joy), how do I maintain it in my life or manage to keep that positive sense of self? These are questions and thoughts that I've had many times, and I hope they are useful to the rest of you in our joint discussion/pursuit of living a happier and more joyful life.
"I agree that one key to happiness comes from knowing yourself, but another key is awareness. Being comfortable enough with yourself to be aware of other people, nature, sounds, music, ideas, etc. They weave a tapestry of life that brings joy throughout existence. For example, this morning as we traveled in 8 degree weather, I noticed that the fog had frozen to every part of the trees. As the sun peaked through the mist it lit up the crystals making a brief moment to be thankful for awareness of such grandeur. Throughout the day there were many such small moments that add to true joy."
ReplyDeleteGerry Bogue, Jan. 12