"When You Walk, Walk With Pride"

"A man should always wear a garment with two pockets. In one pocket, there should be a note which reads, 'I am but dust and ashes.' In the other pocket, there should be a paper which says, 'For me, the world was created.'" -- Hassidic wisdom of Rabbi Fields to Norman Lear

Another inspirational, go-get-'em quote, right? Too bad I don't believe in cliché inspirationalism, and so wouldn't allow such a thing on my blog, unless someone had come to my apartment, duct taped me to a wall, discovered my username and password, and blogged it themselves. I can honestly say that such is not the case; at least not yet, though part of me holds out hope for that. It would be an adventure, no?

There is a much deeper meaning to this quote, at least that I've personally discovered in my mulling it over for days and weeks. I'm not talking about the religious ideologies one can unpack from it either, though you can go there if you'd like, and I certainly have. It speaks to the internal conflict inside each man, or that should be inside each man. I've seen it, I've experienced it, and it fascinates me, this conflict. How do we even operate or find a balance between the two Selves--the one which believes he is nothing, and the other which knows he is everything?

"Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?" -- Attributed to Nelson Mandela

Don't be afraid of being brilliant; you're supposed to be. And don't be afraid of being a failure; you're supposed to be that too.