Lesson: In this session, titled ‘Emerson and Self-Reliance as a Reader,’ we consider the core ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous essay, ‘Self-Reliance.’ Emerson advocates for living according to one’s own terms, relying on personal judgment and values rather than seeking approval from society or others. This concept of self-reliance has a significant connection toContinue reading Day 13 – Emerson and Self-Reliance as a Reader
It occurred to me while reading a few sessions ago that all of the women in Tough women are from the UK or a country other than the US. My initial reaction was that I thought this book was about American women(not sure why I thought this) and it sort of changed my attitude for a short while. I guess I wanted to read about American women mostly. This is curious to me because I know it doesn’t matter where a person lives or grows up to become an adventurer, but I was surprised at my reaction, it was opinionated with a tinge of disappointment. These Europeans actually have made the book more interesting and I realized that quickly. I’ve read so little over the years and it challenged my thinking and am more open minded to reading books regardless of where their origin is from. Reading and writing are international, which I knew, but I had in my mind this rigid expectation of American. This was a light bulb moment for me even though it sounds obvious.
This year I had a goal of learning about stoicism. And have read several books by Ryan Holiday. A main theme that appeared to me was the emphasis on minding one’s own business and focusing on what you can control and not focusing on things and people who are out of my control. One of the books I am reading for this course, The Let Them Theory, has provided me with strategies for focusing on my own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Linking Let Them with Let Me is a new concept and thought process for me. The author advocates for detaching and letting go of those parts of your life over which you have no control, which is a philosophy I have believed in for many years. What is new is the idea that you Let Them be who they are AND you Let You learn to be a more mature person in your own options for your behavior. It goes hand in hand that you Let Them and at the same time you practice Let Me. I am learning that being more self-aware and more introspective should give me the real super power of self reliance and real personal power over me NOT over someone else.
This is a good assignment. I am reading “nothing to envy” about life in North Korea. This is impacting me significantly. I never knew there was such hardship going on in Korea. It is making me really appreciate the country we live in. It makes the issues, and political opinions of this country seem so petty and minor compared with the communist leadership of Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il.