Marshes, sweet smell of fennel, true blue skies, geese, ducks, egrets,
winding waterways, pillar art to balance on, and wings in flight.
“You don’t know anyone at the party, so you don’t want to go. You don’t like cottage cheese,
so you haven’t eaten it in years. This is your choice, of course, but don’t kid yourself:
it’s also the flinch. Your personality is not set in stone. You may think a morning coffee
is the most enjoyable thing in the world, but it’s really just a habit. Thirty days without it, and you would be fine. You think you have a soul mate, but in fact you could have had any number
of spouses. You would have evolved differently, but been just as happy. You can change
what you want about yourself at any time. You see yourself as someone who can’t write
or play an instrument, who gives in to temptation or makes bad decisions, but that’s really
not you. It’s not ingrained. It’s not your personality. Your personality is something else,
something deeper than just preferences, and these details on the surface, you can change
anytime you like.
If it is useful to do so, you must abandon your identity and start again. Sometimes, it’s the only way.
Set fire to your old self. It’s not needed here. It’s too busy shopping, gossiping about others, and watching days go by and asking why you haven’t gotten as far as you’d like. This old self will die and be forgotten by all but family, and replaced by someone who makes a difference.
Your new self is not like that. Your new self is the Great Chicago Fire—
overwhelming, overpowering, and destroying everything that isn’t necessary.”
— Julien Smith
