The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur

April 6Darkness and Light

But there is no person, in whom humor and love, like mountain peaks, soar to such a rapt height as to receive the irradiations of the upper skies;—there is no person in whom humor and love are developed in that high form called genius; no such person can exist without also possessing, as the indispensable complement of these, a great, deep intellect, which drops down into the universe like a plummet. Or, love and humor are only the eyes through which such an intellect views this world. The great beauty in such a mind is but the product of its strength.

Herman Melville—“Hawthorne and His Mosses” (1850)

Many of the writers during the transcendentalist period were searching for a writing style that was no longer seen as some derivation of British literature. Less than a hundred years removed from the American Revolution, they sought to define an American style and, in doing so, were roundly criticized for the risks they took.

If you wear a mask to hide your true genius, to disguise the profound truths you must tell, to shield the parts you are not yet comfortable with, you will give us only a portion of your gift. The world must know your darkness in order to appreciate your light.

Challenge Question

1. What mask are you hiding behind?