Joseph Machney
Outgrowing oneself brings into consideration self-acceptance alongside society expectations. Our fast-paced world does not have the patience for who we were when we were young. So what happens to that person, that part of our past?
They are still present within us and perhaps at times come out in not so appropriate ways. What then? How do people see that part of you? Do you judge yourself as having acted immaturely? Are you being fair to yourself? By judging yourself and correcting your behavior in order to fit the model of society, what have you gained? Who have you pleased through this action?
If you reject this part of you with the intention of fitting a mold that you feel aligns with society then how do you know who you truly are? Where does your authentic self come into this equation?
A society is defined as a group of people participating in continuous social connection, or a broad social group occupying the same social or spatial territory, normally exposed to the same political power and cultural standards that are dominant.
To me this means conformity and in that a denial of one’s true self. The true self being a collection of all that one is. Their experiences in all their manifestations are alive in a non-linear arrangement. We give each of them a place and time in our history, but they don’t know what time it is. Time in of itself is a man-made concept that serves to distance ourselves from our past. Through this process we are supposed to mature and jettison parts of ourselves that are not useful in our day to day lives which are often entangled with society. So, we play a role.
Years roll on and these parts of ourselves are denied expression as often as we can keep them detained. As a result, in time we are not fully complete. I’ve noticed countless times through my session work that who the person was is still present and shows up in relationships as mirrors to highlight an opposite or a similar unaddressed pattern or personality. I’ve come to the conclusion that these entanglements are the children that they were trying to express a need, want or desire that is out of time with the age and relationship expectation modelled from the society structure. This structure has transformed as a society has aged into the time it is in now.
All of this is seen from a linear perspective labelled as perhaps societal evolution. I am curious about the standards or benchmarks that decide this evolution and what they are predicated upon? Given the state of the world collectively, it is far from all-encompassing.
Group-think is ubiquitous and until we begin to see this as the next pandemic, we will continue on this current trajectory as a society. States of consciousness differ slightly from generation to generation, so we are told, and yet there is a foundation that is continually present. It runs alongside us, at times is underneath us, and yet overshadows us impelling us forward. The pace quickens and we are asked to keep up; to keep the pace.
We are all at our own level of growth and until that is truly seen and honored in another then we will continue to trip over competition, narcissism, jealousy, outdoing another, racism, and on and on. Why do we do this? Why are we caught up in this madness? To what end? What are we asking for so loudly that we need to express this degree of agitation essentially with ourselves?
Separation. The illusion of separation creates this collective madness. Separation from spirit. There is a presence within us that is spirit, threaded throughout us and everything in creation. We are taught to quantify reality in a way that suits the collective expression. But who has decided this expression?
Going back to group-think, one could say that we all did. Throughout history there has always been those who opposed societal norms and traditions in their unique ways. From William Blake opposing colonialism in his work Songs of Innocence and Experience to Jane Austin’s stab at the aristocrats of the same time through Pride and Prejudice, to Transcendental writers such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Wallace Wattles, as well as philosophical thinkers such as Rudolf Steiner and later on people associated with the hippy movement of the 1960s. These types of people have always been present in history. These types of people are timeless in how their works and expressions have remained, no matter how society has changed.
When one is timeless, their relationship to how they see time does not have the same linear movement that we are taught to see as forward in direction. The person that they were is more available for them and with that the innocence before indoctrination is still very much alive. These parts are the sticks in the wheels of society that continually try to steer in on a new path and trajectory.
Our deep discrimination in all of its manifestations is rooted in fear. Fear is due to not understanding. In that lack of comprehension comes the fear of the unknown. People want to feel safe and so they have created the illusion of safety. Given the condition of the world this has not worked out very well and yet we still strive for this. It is natural to want safety but the deep-rooted fear has distorted this meaning and through that distortion created an anxiousness that neglects and has no need for the child that we were. They do not fit any longer and yet they are an intricate part of the whole.
Can you imagine the deep empathy that we could cultivate collectively if we had compassion for who we were and then witness a similar process in another? A deeper understanding that transcends the norms of society. Where would that put us if our collective goal was to become whole once again and in that process realize that we are all spirit? What story would your ego come up with to deny you this innate freedom? “What am I supposed to do with that; that part won’t last!”
