" I say, beware of all enterprises that require new clothes, and not rather a new wearer of clothes. If there is not a new man, how can the new clothes be made to fit?"
-Thoreau
Read the whole paragraph here.
This quote is my most memorable from Walden. No matter how many times i pick up that book, i always seek out that page and read it. I don't remember what page it's on and i haven't marked it, but i find it every time. If you've read the whole thing then I'm sure you get the power in what he's saying.
Being who you are and staying true to that is a tough proposition. We, people in general, look to things outside of ourselves to make something of us. From the things we do to the things we own, and even the clothes we wear, we have a desire for people to know something of us by all these things. And to a certain extent they may be, but for the most part these things are not who we are. There is more to us than that, who we are runs deep and takes time to get to know. I'm not concerned with what you have or what things you have identified with, i want to know what you think about life and what makes you tick. My days are filled with hours of conversation with moments of work or play. That's what i spend my time doing, getting to know people. I often ask people difficult questions that catches them off guard because they're things that people just don't think about. Thoughts and feelings of their own they don't even know themselves. Just as there is nothing like an old, perfectly worn to me, pair of jeans there is nothing like wearing the real me on my sleeve. And who would require of me anything less?
How do your clothes suit you? What do you require of yourself?
I love asking those types of questions of people as well. I often get a response like "Well that's a wierd question" or "huh?" LOL. Definitely breaks the monotany though :)
ReplyDeleteMost people know me well enough to expect it, but it definitely catches people off guard when they don't know me really well. It's all good though.
DeleteI like the way you worded this. Often times those are the questions that make you stop and think... make you delve deep into your soul for the answer.
ReplyDeleteIt always amazes me how much judgement might be passed based on nothing in particular. Clothing. Tattoos. Accents. People are strange.
ReplyDeletexx
Lulu
Breakfast After 10
I used to ask those questions, and I threw a few people off the guard over the years; not so much anymore. Now, I mostly sit on the sidelines, listen and observe, and process what I see in my head or notebooks.
ReplyDeleteI feel good in my clothes. I dress by mood, and usually it's very casual and carefree. I'm thankful to work in an office environment that isn't stuffy. I don't have to dress up and pretend I'm someone I'm not.