Self Reliance: Why I will Lean on Me (Essay Sample)

Self Reliance: Why I will Lean on Me
In its simplest form, self reliance implies being self dependent and not having to depend on anyone else to get things done or moving. Humans do spend a big part their life depending on other people, such as family members, friends and society at large. Self reliance is the time in their life when ones comes of age, physically, mentally and spiritually and is able to depend on own resources rather than those of others. In this essay, we are looking more into mental and spiritual self reliance, rater tan the physical and tangible needs of a human being and why it is good to develop self reliance skills and abilities.
Many are the times when we have held back from doing or saying something for fear of the unknown like being ridiculed, laughed at or simply for fear of being wrong and failing. Emerson tells us that, "In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty" (26). It is only much later when somebody else who was more daring or more brave than us has said it or done that that we come to see how right or correct we were. You had an innovative business idea or society challenging thought but because you held back, somebody has now beaten you to the game and is now reaping what could have been yours. It is at this particular time we are forced to eat humble pie. The key is to trust yourself and move forward by accepting what you feel is correct, right and worthy bringing forth or out without fear and says,
The great reformer, business magnate, spiritual leader, history changer is that independent individual who is able to stand in his independence and say "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think" (31). A self reliant person is not be a simple conformist, who is ever scared of self trust by revering the past, a blind kind of consistency, not wanting to dare or deviate from what are others are doing or saying. The fear of contradicting others irrespective of their status in society: family, friends, thinkers or those who rule over us should not make us too dependent. Every man should be aware of his unique worth, stand his ground and be no sycophantic.
A dependent human being will stagnant and die spiritually, "He dares not say ‘I think,’ ‘I am,’ but quotes some saint or sage" (38), ever living in the past, not wanting to test new waters or new ground. God can speak to me without having heard/reading what He said to David about a similar matter/issue, what my Bishop thinks. I too can talk to God also. Spiritual power can be found in new ways, not necessarily the old tired ways of doing things. "Self-existence is the attribute of the Supreme Cause, and it constitutes the measure of good by the degree in which it enters into all lower forms" (39-40). When we watch that bending tree as it endeavors to recover from the strong gale, the survival instincts of that small jungle creature and wild plant, it all demonstrates to us the self-sufficing power of that tree, animal or plant and therefore likewise we should try to develop self-relying abilities in ourselves. That tree, that animal did not bring itself into existence for there is a Supreme Being out there. I must know that I can access God too without having to go to my brother, me! Otherwise I will idolize my Brother’s God and not my God to whom I can feel.
"If we cannot at once rise to the sanctities of obedience and faith, let us at least resist our temptations; let us enter into the state of war and wake Thor and Woden, courage and constancy, in our Saxon breasts" (41). God lies within us; we have His power in us. Self reliance must not be of the artificial and mechanical nature, but one that is derived from a spiritual power, an elevated form of derived strength from the Supreme Being Himself. "Say to them, ‘O father, O mother, O wife, O brother, O friend, I have lived with you after appearances hitherto. Henceforward I am the truth’s…." (41). I must from henceforth out of my own growth needs and aspirations be myself, I will not be a follower and a conformist any more. I will no longer break myself for others. This is not being done out of selfish motives but because the growth of the self in the individual has a greater call and will set the self reliant person free. "As soon as the man is at one with God, he will not beg" (43). To break with custom, tradition, societal rules and regulations are the acts of a brave man. It has been said that you cannot discover new worlds unless you are willing to lose sight of the shore. As individual members of society, we must be ready to communicate with our inner self, reason with the self and say and do what our consciences dictate without fearing that society in which we are members of. If what we have to say will cause shocks which are good for the society we must not be afraid and remain in the shadows.
One who follows traditions "carries ruins to ruins" (45). Who was there to teach and mould the thoughts of great men like Francis Bacon, Franklin, or Washington? They relied on themselves and dared to think. "Every great man is a unique" (46), do not lose your uniqueness by being carried along by the societal wave. Instead make a wave by yourself, be the wave. Be brave and another great man like them will rise, but different from them because it will be you. Simply obey the nudging of your heart and you shall reproduce another world again just the old brave ones did during their time. This is your time. "Insist on yourself; never imitate" (46) When you copy somebody’s ideas or thoughts, you are only half way there. Do you have to copy the work of that great Gothic artist? We don’t need to go to German...