The Effort To Change
I appreciate each and every one of you who has been led to this page, this chain of thought, and my initial blog post.
The Effort To Change: what is the nature of trying, better yet striving to grow? How mandatory is the willingness to adapt to new systems and cultural change?
It is often stated that 'people who seem to not try at all, excel, and in turn, those who apply the most effort, tend to fall short' of self-satisfaction. Is this true? What would make it so? Why is said of "good, humble" people, 'Those that try the hardest, FAIL?'
"You're only grown, when you're deceased" - Aunt Helena (Hush-Polite-Hedgespeth)
One of the few things I've never forgotten over the past 25 years is this mantra, professed by the woman who mothered me, Aunt Lena. Like other great minds of our present, past, and future, she knew Growth as a living process, never to be completed. At least, not visibly completed to the naked eye. This line of thinking, influenced my current view of death/accelerated age as a graduation ritual. I FEEL that those who transcend this earthly experience "earned" their way, no matter how old or young.
We know the passing of a loved one can shatter belief systems, we do not always observe, whether this Develops or Stunts the individual in grief, as the process is different for each person. What is factual, is that Aunt Lena knows & has known what I was yet to learn, that there is no 'when I'm old/big/rich enough, I'ma do XYZ' condition respected by the Universe.
Universal law has observed child kings and leaders of conquest, as much as it has witnessed infantile behavior conducted by, and unbecoming of, men. Since we have asserted that being "grown" is equivalent to being "dead", why should one wait for anything other than one's own acceptance of the words "I'm Ready"?
Assuming one is at this point in personal development, how much of the former you should cross over into your New Endeavors? Are you required to alter anything? Is all of you welcome to the next stage? More questions than answers I have. Read on.
For no practical reason should adults make statements like the one I wrote earlier, "why do people who seem to not try at all excel? NO man is omnipotent. Who will confirm this as true, everywhere, at all times? I don't think a (wo)man would chain himself to a belief such as this. HOWEVER, we will utter nonsense like that when talking with a group, where one wants to diminish the sense of being "different". This connects with a point I haven't explored yet, the "trying" aspect.
"...you never try, you do. Your words are what you do. Your actions are what you speak of. There is no try, half-ass if you want to, and get half-assed results." Aunt Lena (Hush-Polite-Hedgespeth)
Yet again, Aunt Lena provided no room for middle ground. As a middle child, a Taurus, and her father's daughter, my "mother" was a Sensei in wordplay and a Saint in governance. Plagued with problems I still ponder, she did not allow my siblings and I to think in terms of 180 degrees, or a half-spin. In addition, my childhood was during the golden era of Five Percenter Mathematics and Black Nationalist codes of conduct. The hood gave me very rigid standards of home management and self-accountability you won't find anyone in the hood particularly living up to. People who could measure up to full-circle completion and excellence in various areas of life, often receive silent recognition. Rarely are they preaching like the aforementioned guys, they just continually show up, confounding the slackers with their "gifts".
I'm not saying slackers equate with those guys/groups, I'm using a over-arching mentality regarding stereotypical "spiritual warriors" in the eyes of Uncle Sam/WASP society. A view that these guys are actually inept at contributing to society in a concrete way. They turn to philosophy, for it is abstract, as they are. (I too, am aloof, and lack organization in a technical manner) I find that my 5%, Hebrew Israelites, & Moor brethren are comparably restricted in bringing a concrete addition to the lives of our "village" which is why they build a foundation on their creativity, intellect, & metaphysical power, as one should. Build on your strengths. To each his own. I say the system is for all, not 'us'.
With the overlying progress of an entire village on a single colored man's back, we are burdened mentally prior to even meeting the global market. No distinction from an immigrant (I will not speak of benefits to immigrants because colored people in the US are still assisted by the government in various forms, not in the same exact fashion, but there is help here) can be made, in the way that we exist "outside" of actual North American society. Trying to succeed from that viewpoint, is useful as pushing a vehicle with no tires up I-95. We must either run to the destination, or run with the car roped to our ankles. No in-between, no middle ground. That is the expectation of most, and when met? Good deeds are celebrated with the all-encompassing, hardly motivational 'silent recognition'.
Ok! No love for excellence and striving!? There is love, from those that can't see themselves doing what you did. Aunt Lena despised trying, as did the hood and it's philosophists. We get things done
(how do you measure 'done'? If Grown equals dead, does Done equal killed?).
Now that we only DO, what you've done has to be admirable or desirable to others, you know, or else it 'doesn't count'. Huh? Yes, you killed a fly. Tariq tamed a tiger. YOU'd better tell the world you slayed a Dragon, otherwise you observe silence. Wait until you tame a tiger too and can add to the conversation. By then, a whale while be held captive in Joe's backyard. Stop chasing others feet.
Yes, even though you get things DONE, you still you must live up to further expectations. The expectations of those who continually do. You see the ladder constructing itself? The ladder is evidence of change being constant, as opposed to a static "Hey honey. Yeah I just arrived at the airport, I'm in Changed, Man, Successville....." You're never alone, not in this journey, which will be the subject of my next blog. It will bridge outward from this "Trying, being Grown, Changing" blog.
"Embrace your place and leave your trace. Never chase, proceed with grace - Brandon C. Williams (bars)
WE ALL CHANGE. You 1) wanted to or 2) you had to, but in both cases you became aware that staying as you were, would equal death. I asked earlier was it mandatory to change, and you know I believe it is. The crux of this decision is your willingness to forsake pieces of your identity for pieces that you BELIEVE belong to others. WE crave to be different, but ignore the reality that Others are different in the same way. We'd rather juxtapose our style among opposites, so we "stand out".
If the Jimi Hendrix type only conversed with Jimi Hendrix types, he'd die for lack of attention.
There is a conflict of interest so inherent here, I know you see it. Everyone does everything, There is no Standout individual. You can only stand out amongst a group of people who lack an element you own. You're not the only girl with purple hair. Therefore, tear the wall down that blocks you from "business blond" for instance. Why should you? Do it because no one owns an act, only the expression.
It's all ego, being stubborn is a Big Ego issue. Ego is an Anchor. You want to explore. tear the Anchor up.You simply lack less now as a growing person. You lacked most everything as "grown folk". Your heart peels every time you say "I'm the same person from day one". No you've expanded. You HAVE grown, you are NOT grown. You're present, growing, leading, stretching beyond the hood, the farm, the town, the college, the club. Growth requires the energy of the systems around it. In isolation you are easily absorbed. In partnership (next blog coming soon) you multiply. You eat, you are not eaten.
Food which grows you. People that expand you. They don't try, they do. You do. You grow. You WIN
The Effort To Change: what is the nature of trying, better yet striving to grow? How mandatory is the willingness to adapt to new systems and cultural change?
It is often stated that 'people who seem to not try at all, excel, and in turn, those who apply the most effort, tend to fall short' of self-satisfaction. Is this true? What would make it so? Why is said of "good, humble" people, 'Those that try the hardest, FAIL?'
"You're only grown, when you're deceased" - Aunt Helena (Hush-Polite-Hedgespeth)
One of the few things I've never forgotten over the past 25 years is this mantra, professed by the woman who mothered me, Aunt Lena. Like other great minds of our present, past, and future, she knew Growth as a living process, never to be completed. At least, not visibly completed to the naked eye. This line of thinking, influenced my current view of death/accelerated age as a graduation ritual. I FEEL that those who transcend this earthly experience "earned" their way, no matter how old or young.
We know the passing of a loved one can shatter belief systems, we do not always observe, whether this Develops or Stunts the individual in grief, as the process is different for each person. What is factual, is that Aunt Lena knows & has known what I was yet to learn, that there is no 'when I'm old/big/rich enough, I'ma do XYZ' condition respected by the Universe.
Universal law has observed child kings and leaders of conquest, as much as it has witnessed infantile behavior conducted by, and unbecoming of, men. Since we have asserted that being "grown" is equivalent to being "dead", why should one wait for anything other than one's own acceptance of the words "I'm Ready"?
Assuming one is at this point in personal development, how much of the former you should cross over into your New Endeavors? Are you required to alter anything? Is all of you welcome to the next stage? More questions than answers I have. Read on.
For no practical reason should adults make statements like the one I wrote earlier, "why do people who seem to not try at all excel? NO man is omnipotent. Who will confirm this as true, everywhere, at all times? I don't think a (wo)man would chain himself to a belief such as this. HOWEVER, we will utter nonsense like that when talking with a group, where one wants to diminish the sense of being "different". This connects with a point I haven't explored yet, the "trying" aspect.
"...you never try, you do. Your words are what you do. Your actions are what you speak of. There is no try, half-ass if you want to, and get half-assed results." Aunt Lena (Hush-Polite-Hedgespeth)
Yet again, Aunt Lena provided no room for middle ground. As a middle child, a Taurus, and her father's daughter, my "mother" was a Sensei in wordplay and a Saint in governance. Plagued with problems I still ponder, she did not allow my siblings and I to think in terms of 180 degrees, or a half-spin. In addition, my childhood was during the golden era of Five Percenter Mathematics and Black Nationalist codes of conduct. The hood gave me very rigid standards of home management and self-accountability you won't find anyone in the hood particularly living up to. People who could measure up to full-circle completion and excellence in various areas of life, often receive silent recognition. Rarely are they preaching like the aforementioned guys, they just continually show up, confounding the slackers with their "gifts".
I'm not saying slackers equate with those guys/groups, I'm using a over-arching mentality regarding stereotypical "spiritual warriors" in the eyes of Uncle Sam/WASP society. A view that these guys are actually inept at contributing to society in a concrete way. They turn to philosophy, for it is abstract, as they are. (I too, am aloof, and lack organization in a technical manner) I find that my 5%, Hebrew Israelites, & Moor brethren are comparably restricted in bringing a concrete addition to the lives of our "village" which is why they build a foundation on their creativity, intellect, & metaphysical power, as one should. Build on your strengths. To each his own. I say the system is for all, not 'us'.
With the overlying progress of an entire village on a single colored man's back, we are burdened mentally prior to even meeting the global market. No distinction from an immigrant (I will not speak of benefits to immigrants because colored people in the US are still assisted by the government in various forms, not in the same exact fashion, but there is help here) can be made, in the way that we exist "outside" of actual North American society. Trying to succeed from that viewpoint, is useful as pushing a vehicle with no tires up I-95. We must either run to the destination, or run with the car roped to our ankles. No in-between, no middle ground. That is the expectation of most, and when met? Good deeds are celebrated with the all-encompassing, hardly motivational 'silent recognition'.
Ok! No love for excellence and striving!? There is love, from those that can't see themselves doing what you did. Aunt Lena despised trying, as did the hood and it's philosophists. We get things done
(how do you measure 'done'? If Grown equals dead, does Done equal killed?).
Now that we only DO, what you've done has to be admirable or desirable to others, you know, or else it 'doesn't count'. Huh? Yes, you killed a fly. Tariq tamed a tiger. YOU'd better tell the world you slayed a Dragon, otherwise you observe silence. Wait until you tame a tiger too and can add to the conversation. By then, a whale while be held captive in Joe's backyard. Stop chasing others feet.
Yes, even though you get things DONE, you still you must live up to further expectations. The expectations of those who continually do. You see the ladder constructing itself? The ladder is evidence of change being constant, as opposed to a static "Hey honey. Yeah I just arrived at the airport, I'm in Changed, Man, Successville....." You're never alone, not in this journey, which will be the subject of my next blog. It will bridge outward from this "Trying, being Grown, Changing" blog.
"Embrace your place and leave your trace. Never chase, proceed with grace - Brandon C. Williams (bars)
WE ALL CHANGE. You 1) wanted to or 2) you had to, but in both cases you became aware that staying as you were, would equal death. I asked earlier was it mandatory to change, and you know I believe it is. The crux of this decision is your willingness to forsake pieces of your identity for pieces that you BELIEVE belong to others. WE crave to be different, but ignore the reality that Others are different in the same way. We'd rather juxtapose our style among opposites, so we "stand out".
If the Jimi Hendrix type only conversed with Jimi Hendrix types, he'd die for lack of attention.
There is a conflict of interest so inherent here, I know you see it. Everyone does everything, There is no Standout individual. You can only stand out amongst a group of people who lack an element you own. You're not the only girl with purple hair. Therefore, tear the wall down that blocks you from "business blond" for instance. Why should you? Do it because no one owns an act, only the expression.
It's all ego, being stubborn is a Big Ego issue. Ego is an Anchor. You want to explore. tear the Anchor up.You simply lack less now as a growing person. You lacked most everything as "grown folk". Your heart peels every time you say "I'm the same person from day one". No you've expanded. You HAVE grown, you are NOT grown. You're present, growing, leading, stretching beyond the hood, the farm, the town, the college, the club. Growth requires the energy of the systems around it. In isolation you are easily absorbed. In partnership (next blog coming soon) you multiply. You eat, you are not eaten.
Food which grows you. People that expand you. They don't try, they do. You do. You grow. You WIN
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