Friday, October 17, 2008

self-examination in the form of late night musings. or, from my written journal

I'm afraid of time slipping by.
I'm afraid while i sit at home today thinking of what I'm going to do tomorrow, the world is passing me by.
I'm a always afraid to commit to any one thing. Afraid that in doing so i will miss out on where i am supposed to be and what i'm destined to do.
But i'm getting sick of that perspective in myself. i think we make our own destiny. i think that i am well past my time of sitting by and doing nothing, waiting for inspiration to come upon me
Life is a journey and we make our own destiny. so, self, stop worrying about missing out. go forward full throttle, and trust yourself to make the choices that will lead you where you were meant to be.
*(this portion of inspiration came from watching
Alix Olson's Left Lane documentary)

That being said, and continuing with the belief that in each choice i make i am shaping my own destiny, i am glad to be here. i am glad to ahve the chacne to take this time to step aside for a moment and breathe. I belive more and more each day that i am home that these weeks of peace and respite are doing me good.

I have noticed in myself a tendency to basically live up to others' expectations of me. so no matter what impression i give the community i live in, i am able to give them more and more proof that i am that great person they think i am, or more and more ammo to use against me. (recently, it's more of the latter)
I feair that i either come on too strong or that i am so mild in temper and manner tha ti make no impression at all.
What i want more than anything in my next destination and phase in life is to step between those two extremes to some sort of happy medium. but i don't know how to do this. because i have discovered in self examination that both come from the same place: shyness. Or to really break it down, Fear. I am afraid of people. Afraid of being not enough or too much . Afraid of just going on with the system and getting lost in the tide, afraid that with the sound of my own voice i may be drowning out my messsage.
so where do i go from here? I find myself asking the same question I asked 10 years ago. How do i become who i want to be? or if i am trusting that since i am past my formative years it is somwhere inside me already, how do I let it out? How do i speak with the voice that lets my words be heard?
The trap i seem to get caught in most often is that of Tone. And with observation and contemplation of myself and others, i realise that i am not alone in this struggle.
I also realise that the people on this path with me are not outgoing. We aer introverts. We are not people-persons. I love people, both individuals and humanity. But i feel most of the time like there is a pane of glass between me and the world. It acts as a filter, an I try to break it down. but when i do, it goes all wrong. the filter, like one on a stage light, sems to allow people to see me in a softer glwo, more the way i want to be seen. break it down, the light is harsh and blinding. leave it up, and i'm easy to dismiss.
So i guess what i need to do is figure out how to change the filter. good job, self, using that lovely theatre analogy. but how do i do that?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm catching up your blog (and you) finally. I think this was an excellent post for me to read at the moment. I just had a conversation with my dad about how I'm afraid I'm spending too much time doing the wrong job, not enough time being creative, life is passing me by, etc. But between our conversation and your post, I do feel better. (So thank you for contributing to a mind at ease. You know how hard that is.) I was thinking about our long conversations in Hoyt or around campus recently - I miss those and you. I wish we had gotten to live in JC/NYC during the same period. Then again, based on your ruminations, it looks as though that could happen. And that would be awesome. I think when I look around, there is something missing in my friendships/support system here. I miss you and Sarah most of all. But for some reason, Sarah feels closer (I guess it's just dumb geography.) I also think you and we (our friendship) belong in my life as it is now, not just in the past. I'm very sorry I haven't been more available. I need to make a better effort to be around, despite the distance. So please don't stop calling, messaging, etc. I think of you often and I'm glad to see you're sorting through things on your own time and in your own way.
Love,
Britt