Dream Warrior: A Collection of Poetry and Prose
By Tyler Croak
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Dream Warrior - Tyler Croak
SOLITUDE
TRUE INDIVIDUALISM
There was a strange irony within any who claimed to be an individualist. Some claim that all growth comes from within. With this thought, came the belief that it was best to remove yourself from all external co-dependencies. Others believed that social and emotional detachments promote inspirations from the self. There was a certain air of arrogance that one claiming to be an individualist could protrude. It was the idea that your truth was the absolute truth and that your own individuality was of utmost importance. Some feared losing their individuality as if they would be losing themselves. Preservation became the key. At one point, this term itself became quite gray to me. Defining it as such meant living life alone.
I followed a similar path of belief earlier in life. I grew up alone. I prided myself on uniqueness. I was happy to inspire others with my thoughts and opinions that seemed different.
But, most of all, I was happy to inspire myself, happy to keep my thoughts to myself, to preserve my core beliefs.
While I still battle with some immaturities from my past ideas of individuality, I also have come to the understanding of what it means to truly be an individualist. Individualism does not mean being a loner or isolating one’s self from others; rather, it means:
Engaging yourself in life experiences with others— people you love, people you hate, and people you may not even know. These experiences teach you important lessons about yourself. A true individualist knows truth is relative to each individual and that each person’s truth should be respected as their own. From others, you will discover tolerable and intolerable actions that will help shape and influence your character.
An individualist engages themselves with others to influence them positively, not to battle over who is right and who is wrong. At the end of the day, we ultimately choose how an outside influence can refine or redefine our own individuality.
True individualism is found through others.
A MONSTER OR A MODELED CITIZEN: THE POWER OF INFLUENCE ON INDIVIDUALITY
I have found that my sense of self was merely my ego guided by experience. To reach beyond the ego, one must begin to accept that experiences are largely caused by externalities. To claim that an individual is not affected by outsiders is to deny all other existence but oneself. Cultural inheritance and social influence greatly affect our sense of identity and our representation. These forces, while subconsciously oppressive at times, give birth to the morals and integrity that either keep us grounded or allow us to wander astray. How we present ourselves, our daily interactions, and even our feelings, are all intrinsic responses from our influenced identity. The true individualist seeks individuality in thought and action while understanding the uncontrollable aforementioned. While experiences can largely encourage the ego, it is entirely within our power to seek original thought. Learned secrets of our inner selves allow us to disassociate from any group, to mine and manifest individual consciousness from our personal attributes.
While external experiences beyond our control can shape what monster or model citizen we become, we always have the choice to search from within for growth. We also have the choice to surround ourselves with positive influences. The individualist does not engage in debate for the sake of being different. We do, however, live life questioning what is truly within our control to change. We derive our own world from personal experience. Making self-improvements can only go so far, and external influences are necessary to pinpoint flaws our ego may deny.
From this constructivism we realize we are never perfect; refinement is a lifelong process.
The reality of individualism is that it is a learned process in which we must choose how external influences within our control might alter our core identity. These alterations awaken our imagination to original thoughts that encourage changes from within.
THE SELF
Tired eyes greet temporary illusions
In the world of make believe
Where every reality
Is of solipsistic creation.
Self-reliance is the only flame
In the darkest night
Where your genius alone
Is of greatest salvation.
In the masquerade of hope
We fall into the illusion of realities,
Of fleeting happiness, chasing
What is not ours.
The only truth
Is what you have defined
And what defines you
Is your only truth.
To deny thyself
Is to sacrifice