To be is not the same as to be part of

An idea appeared suddenly in my mind, I was not able to sleep and the title of this post appeared. I had an incredible clarity of mind while I laid down and felt the need to get up in the middle of the night. But the title is trying to tell me something, so I will inquire about it.

Let’s define two aspects:

“To be” is that essence or identity that each individual has which is not repressed or limited.
“To be part of” is the need of adaptation or auto-regulation that each individual has where one represses or limits one self.

According to my experience I have had several difficulties learning to be, I was taught & I have tried to be part of most of the time. However, I never noticed any problems when I governed my life in that way, because one ignores and distracts oneself when circumstances become difficult socially or emotionally, of course, the funny thing is that one does not predict the worst case scenario until everything explodes. This translates into a greater agony, the more emotional or sensitive the person is to not knowing or understanding one’s self, it may hurt one’s self or even the people around you, it seems that the solution is to accept the outcome without a self-reflection.

In the tangle of our lives some of us reach a certain point where you are not the same person anymore, and frequently one is involved in the same situations where one does not desire to fall back or repeat. Society has an approach to educate or training you to be part of, this is where I remembered the need to be.

I stumbled across a poem written in 1934 by Dale Wimbrow titled “The Guy in the Glass”, the interesting thing about this author is that he allows me to close this tiny writing because once you read it, it gives you a brief moment to look at yourself and remember how you live your life. I hope that with this you give yourself a moment to stare deeply into your eyes & subsequently to your soul/conciousness and question yourself if you have been living to be or to be part of.

The Guy in the Glass

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,

And the world makes you King for a day,

Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,

Who judgement upon you must pass.

The feller whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,

For he’s with you clear up to the end,

And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test

If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,

And think you’re a wonderful guy,

But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum

If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,

And get pats on the back as you pass,

But your final reward will be heartaches and tears

If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.

Dale Wimbrow, 1934

Source of the poem – Click here

You can read a translation of this poem to Spanish made by the Philosophical Engineering in the following link No es lo mismo ser, que se parte de.

Author of the image “Shintaro Kago“

NOTE: I searched for the author of the image above the present post to provide it with its corresponding credits, however, I was not able to find its origin, if one of the readers recognizes the author I would appreciate it if you could share it with me at the comments section.