Paulo Coelho once said, “we wouldn’t worry nearly as much about what people thought of us if we recognized how seldom they do.” True story, Coelho. And a fitting thought upon spending my 48th hour snowed in to my blizzard-wrought apartment complex- thinking, inevitably, about the many ongoing issues that pepper my life. Our mind wanders at an astounding rate- zooming through would-haves, tripping on should-haves, and stopping only briefly to enjoy the view of a could-have- all with a serving of narcissism as generous as Paula Dean’s use of butter. It is entirely natural to be caught up in ourselves, because frankly, if we don’t worry about our own lives, who else is going to?
I used to feel that to be self-involved was a rather selfish tendency. What I misunderstood, however, was that there is a difference between selfishness and self-acknowledgement. If you spend too much time outside of yourself, you will not be able, ultimately, to enjoy your presence in the world. It is those people who have spent enough time wandering through their minds and memories and getting to know themselves who are ultimately able to make the most positive impact on anyone else’s life. Because as the years go by, the physical hills get smaller and the metaphysical hills get larger- and often you have to go up those hills by yourself. BUT if you aren’t hiking solo, you’d better hope you’re with someone who can pull their own weight and maybe help you out a little bit too.
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