Self-reliance: a path towards mindfulness
While I was reading the book "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham some days ago, I came across a stunning quote by the father of Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson.
When you read a serious blueprint about finance and investment, you wouldn't expect to find a fascinating philosophic reference in it. And yet, that's what happened to me while reading "The Intelligent Investor". And the quote resonated with me to such a degree that I decided to dig deeper into its meaning and write about it.
“It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”
What is Transcendentalism?
A philosophical movement developed in the 19th century, Transcendentalism puts the emphasis on the power of the individual. Individual inherently good and capable of great things when 'self reliant' and independent. It is exactly self-reliance which is the subject behind the quote of Emerson. A self-reliant individual is one who is not influenced by society, considered the corruptor of the human goodness; (s)he is an individual who can stand up for her/him self and avoid conformity to arbitrarily accepted norms guiding societies. Concept strictly connected to spirituality, another pillar of Transcendentalism, according to which the truth is within one's self. Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the highest exponents of the 19th-century liberal-protestant movement together with the concepts of self-reliancy and spiritualism.
Society and peer pressure inevitably inflict an influence in our lives ever since we become conscious as children. We begin to learn from our parents and close relatives that there are ‘norms’ to respect when it comes to the way we behave when interacting with others; we become aware of how inappropriate it is often times to express our opinions without any filter in public.
Living in the world after the world’s opinion means following the status-quo and trying to not upset anyone we interact with, not expressing our true point of view and complying with the norms established by society. This in order to not be excluded and criticised by the community we are part of, which is often considered an identifying factor.
What really resonated with me is the main topic which the sentence brings up: the influence society has on our expression of opinions and behaviours when we find ourselves in social circumstances. And it puts into coincise words a concept which I've always felt relevant in my life. A similar idea which i first came across during my high school studies is that of the 'masks' elaborated by Luigi Pirandello.
The reason for which i feel societal and peer pressure have a key role in shaping the ways we interact with other people is because i experience it myself: being the same person and yet behaving slightly differently depending on the environment i'm in and the people i'm with.
So, when in social situations, it is not that easy to express one's opinions without being influenced, even if minimally, by the environment one is sorrounded with. Quite frustrating. But certainly something that can be worked upon. One solution to this existential issue is self-reliance, an idea designed by Transcendentalists. Self-reliance means standing up for oneself; it means not being afraid of other people's opinions and caring about intellectual independence, cultivating critical thinking and being eager to form one's own beliefs.
According to the Transcendentalist view, this capacity has to be formed as we grow, despite the fact that we are faced with many obstacles which bring us closer to conformism rather than to the development of critical thinking. The schooling system being the main one.
However, being self-reliant does not mean 'not giving a fuck'. It is a deep level of self consciousness that ultimatey allows for greater freedom and meaning in life. Freedom and meaning that stem from the level of mental clarity that can be achieved through self-reliance; characteristics which are fundamental for having a clear vision and direction in life.