Letting My Light Shine
They tell me to let my light shine, that it’s who I am.
What do they know of my life?
Of the years I’ve spent in the dirt,
Working and growing, maturing and waiting
Until I finally have a light worth shining
And others worth showing it to?
Would they truly have me believe
My past is no part of my present,
When my past is all that I am?
And what about my daytime life,
And my unlit midnight moments too?
The hours I spend eating, positioning myself
Just so beneath this tree, in the tall grass,
Just so beneath this tree, in the tall grass,
Are these to be consigned forever to darkness?
I am more than my light in these seconds of splendor,
More than most people will ever get to see.
So make not the foolish mistake that you know me
When all you see is my light shining under this tree.
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More than most people will ever get to see.
So make not the foolish mistake that you know me
When all you see is my light shining under this tree.
A few reflections here...
- For most people, most of the time, we are not just the part we play in a given moment. We are the sum of our past - experiences, memories, genetics, relationships - and our present (and perhaps our future?). Indeed, what we bring uniquely to a present situation, as opposed to anyone else, is exactly what our pasts have made us.
- How much of our identity is based on our public persona, versus how we act in private or with close loved ones? Should it be different? Is it even correct to talk about only these two, when we may have many public and private facets? Are we a weighted average of these? A summation? A product?
- Fundamental attribution error: explaining others' behavior with undue emphasis on internal traits rather than external factors, in contrast to judging our own behavior. When we know someone only in a single context, e.g. a professor at school or a manager at work, it is far to easy to assume that how they act is how they are in all situations.
- If you would like to learn more about the full lives of fireflies, here are a few places to start!
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