Daily High Culture 11: I Want to be Who I Can Become

Classical Rebellion

Daily High Culture 11 Wagner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axOJPgRrQ4E You only know me as you see me, not as I actually am.” Immanuel Kant This is one of the fundamental truths of life. For better or worse, no one knows us as we actually are. We are only known to others based on their perceptions and their filters. At first blush, this might feel like a depressing idea. We have a concept that we want someone to “just know us.” There is someone, someone very important. Ourselves. If we consider this quote closely, it will liberate us. Kant did not clarify that we ourselves must have a true understanding of who we are. It’s not a foregone conclusion that we have a clear picture of ourselves. If we have self-understanding if we see ourselves as we actually are then the game is over. It still needs to be played but once we understand ourselves, we have won. Notice that I did not say if we see ourselves as we think we should be. At that point, the game is also over and we have lost. If we take an assessment of ourselves and have a feeling of dissatisfaction, we can reset immediately with just one thought. “I want to be who I can become.” That quote is mine. The thought came to me up while I was trying to “just be ok with myself.” This idea of accepting ourselves as we are is an idea that will lose every single time. “I just want to be ok with myself,” is the mantra of the downtrodden. At the same time, if we are unpleased with ourselves, it is also a recipe for disaster. We want to be able to see ourselves as we are without confirming or denying the desirability of our current situation. “I want to be who I can become” is a neutral statement that consistently resets our potential. It is dynamic and scales with us as we start to become who it is that we are capable of being. When we were kids we were all pure unrealized potential. As we aged many of us became unpure unrealized potential. As adults, many of us still have potential that has remained unrealized but that potential has become unpure, toxic, and bitter based on our repeatedly falling short of what we think we’re capable of. Many times we fall short of what we know we are capable of and that is the very definition of sin. Sin, originally, meant to miss the target, to fall short of our abilities. Out of that came a code of behaviors to avoid such as lying, cheating, stealing, etc. If we practice those behaviors, we will fall short of our abilities. The problem is that we can still remain far short of our potential and never lie, cheat, or steal. Avoiding vices is not the same as participating in virtues. To tell the truth, play fair, and give to others is a far different perspective than merely not lying, cheating, or stealing. Many times we simply keep our mouth shut, don’t play, and neither steal nor provide for others. To be sure, if we lie, cheat and steal, our potential becomes poisonous. However, sin is not only about specific transgressions. It also has a macro component. If we fail to become who we can become, our failure has untold consequences as it applies to how we interact with and influence others. When we fail to realize our potential, it literally makes the world a worse place and we can definitely call that sinful. On the flip side when we start to fulfill the potential of who we can become, it makes the world, a better place. Should we consider that to be “holy?” The other element which I like about “I want to be who I can become” is that it doesn’t set any false expectations. False expectations manifest as both too much and too little. The key to this process is that we never ever set a bar or put expectations on our potential as we are constantly resetting it. We can have goals and aspirations but we must refrain from putting them on a schedule of expectations. Wherever we find ourselves, the thought remains, I want to be who I can become.