“Whoever uses the spirit that is in him creatively is an artist.
To make living itself an art, that is the goal.”
― Henry Miller
“The whole life of the individual is nothing but the process of giving birth to himself; indeed, we should be fully born when we die — although it is the tragic fate of most individuals to die before they are born.”
— Erich Fromm
Behind the self-help clichés and feel-good answers, are you satisfied with who you are and what you’ve attained in life? Can you look yourself in the mirror in the early hours of dawn and honestly answer that question?
Have you carved out a life true to who you are beyond the job, the title, the possessions, and society's tedious obligations? Have you ever accomplished anything on your own terms to be truly proud of?
Have you achieved some aspect of personal excellence through the cultivation of your own creative powers? Or are you simply living out your life as a walking mimicry, relying on customs, fashions, false appearances, and the opinions of others to nourish your sense of self-worth?
These are serious questions that demand the utmost sincerity. These are questions that I too have to ask myself routinely. Because in truth, in the final hours of life, very few people can reflect on their lives and be proud of what they’ve done.
The most prominent deathbed regret for many people is that they wish they had the courage to live a life true to themselves, not the life others expected of them. Many feel they’ve wasted their lives living timidly and apathetically, afraid to try, afraid to fail, afraid to take full responsibility for their own existence.
Rather than using our own unique strengths and passions in forging our own lives, many of us come to realize late in life that we’ve squandered the treasures within. We gave the reins of our lives to others and lived like heedless marionettes on the cultural stage.