Autonomy

I would argue that everyone need to be autonomous at some stage in their lives. It's a wonderful thing to be able to provide for yourself in every sense of the word, especially emotionally. My father always told me to not depend on anyone. Now why is that? Well, I believe that this way of thought is created due to a certain number of factors: human error, selfishness in that people look after themselves first before they worry about you. But, focusing more on the emotional side of autonomy I believe it to be a valuable self-defence mechanism against times in your life in which you are alone and disappointed by friends and people you love. In my case I have certainly experienced both. It's a very difficult thing to learn to live with yourself, like yourself and allow yourself to form a hard exterior which in a way shields yourself from life's disappointments. I realize this may seem to like a pessimistic approach in life, but I am capable of optimism. However it's a way to protect yourself against life's bows and arrows which is something positive

I think what else has spawned this sense of being in myself has been my interaction with others in all the places that I have lived. I have met many people and have had my ups and downs in human relations both in love, friendship and the professional world. One valuable thing I have learned is that we are all far from compatible. Why this is so, is God's mystery. With this said, it's only logical that we are going to be disappointed in our encounters with others as we are forcing ourselves to mesh something together, to put a square peg into a circle. To give another metaphor, we are all like a puzzle with billions of tiny pieces and it takes time to find the right match. The point is this: when you've been through enough episodes where you are the square and the other person is a weird shape that you can hardly recognize, why try and make things fit? When you've been through of these times you begin to not care anymore and it allows you to concentrate more on yourself, your faults, your positive qualities and your self-confidence which in the end makes you a stronger person

I am not promoting a hermits way of life, certainly not, I need friends too and social interaction as I think the more we interact with others the more we learn about ourself. The more we isolate ourselves the more I think we develop strange behaviors and ways of thinking. This somewhat touches on my Reality post a few weeks ago, but I'll reiterate here; why let others dictate how you feel about yourself? This is harder when you are younger I realize this and I think this is why I like being an adult as school days are long gone. Well not exactly for me, but I mean the years during your formative years.