July 8More Human
How life behind its accidents / Stands strong and self-sustaining, / The human fact transcending all / The losing and the gaining.
John Greenleaf Whittier—Among the Hills (1869)
The notion of self-transcendence, or seeking to exceed our previous achievements and extend our capacities, is very much aligned with the journey to self-reliance.
Self-reliance is ultimately obtained (ironically) not by being obsessed with the self, but by being more selfless. It is the ultimate manifestation of the principle that in order to receive it is better to give.
Viktor Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning, suggested this:
The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. Self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.
How could you be more human today?
Challenge Question
- What area of your life would you wish to be so much fuller?
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