Fulfilling Life Begins and Ends

¶ … fulfilling life begins and ends with the self, according to Ralph Waldo Emerson. In his essay, "Self-Reliance," Emerson expounds on what it really means to be self-reliant and happy. While self-reliance sounds like an easy thing to conquer, it is actually a most difficult one considering the nature of society. Outside forces are incredibly distracting and it takes determination to look inward to find oneself. Emerson tackles this issue seriously and with a passion that can only be described as contagious.

The processes outlined in "Self-Reliance" are important because thinking is a difficult thing to do. Our society is filled with stimuli coming at us from all angles and people will be less productive and self-reliant if they are distracted, which we learn in Orwell's 1984. Emerson knew the human psyche needs a time of rejuvenation to function at its best. Thinking about life, one's choices, one's mistakes, and one's future is a hard thing to do sometimes but it necessary if we are to be happy.

We simply cannot look to others for our happiness and fulfillment. Emerson was adamant about man looking into himself for answers. The first line in "Self-Reliance" urges us not to seek outside our selves. Fulfillment emerges from a life of seeking and not following. Many around us are content with following someone else because, at times this is easiest to do. Emerson advises us against this because it will not lead to anything but emptiness when we stop to reflect on our lives.

When we look to ourselves for answers, we are relying on ourselves and while this sounds easy, it can be difficult when we are encouraged daily to listen to and follow others. Emerson writes, "There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide" (Emerson). We function better when we are not copying someone else or envying another person's life. Emerson also believed in individuality.

We see this thought referred to as "rugged individualism" by such self-starters as Rush Limbaugh. Emerson wrote, "The soul created the arts wherever they have flourished. It was in his own mind that the artist sought his model. It was an application of his own thought to the thing to be done and the conditions to be observed" (Emerson). Here, Emerson points out that man has only to follow his own instincts to be creative.

Art becomes a human outlet that speaks to millions and it cannot be taught to us. We can learn about art and artist, but art itself comes from the soul. This creation is fulfillment. This is a true observation all should consider. Emerson knew the importance of a single unique thought coupled with desire. The power to make something distinctive lives within man and "none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried" (Emerson).

This is not an option for Emerson. He states, "Insist on yourself; never imitate. That which each can do best, none but his Maker can teach him. No man yet knows what it is, nor can, till that person has exhibited it" (Emerson). To discover one's true talents, one must be willing to accept them from his Maker. Man's connection with his Maker is another important aspect of self-reliance for Emerson.

It is important to recognize a higher power and to experience a union with God, whatever one may perceive him to be. God is like art in that it cannot be learned, it must be experienced. To experience God, one must be brave because "God will not have his work made manifest by cowards" (Emerson). This bravery includes disregarding the risk of ridicule from others. The rewards of this connection are great, as they open us to many things.

Emerson writes, "when God speaketh he should communicate, not one thing, but all things. Whenever a mind is simple and receives a divine wisdom, then old things pass away. It lives now, and absorbs past and future into the present hour" (Emerson). Here Emerson places all things in the here and now. This rhetoric is found in popular circles today. Many self-help gurus will tout living in the now as the future never arrives and the past is already gone. Nature plays a significant role is man's fulfillment.

Through an experience with nature, life-changing experiences emerge. Only in undisturbed moments with nature can man release his inhibitions, his ego, and everything else that society attempts to teach him. We need to recharge and in quiet moments, we discover new things. He writes men should "learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages" (Emerson). Emerson's advice is to "trust thyself" (Emerson), echoing similar sentiments from Shakespeare.

When are true to ourselves, things become more apparent and nature and God help us achieve moments of enlightenment. Emerson is clear about the dangers of not living a fulfilling life: it leads to discontent and disillusionment. Happiness lies in being true to oneself because the most frightening thing would be to wake up old one day and realize that you have never done an original thing. Originality introduces you to yourself and from that, you will become self-reliant because the two are connected.

Emerson places much faith in mankind because he understands the significance of what he has learned.