Should We Be Imitators

by Satanus 22 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  Satanus

  Wt always claimed that everyone imitates somebody. They said that they were imitating jehovah, jesus, isaiah, or some other bible character in some ways or another. They claimed the rest of mankind were imitating their own idols, heros, and ultimately, the devil. Most of those claims can be disproven.

  Young kids seem to naturally imitate their parents, then, later on, others that they look up to. However, as they get older they start to differentiate their own personalities from those around them. As they enter adolescence, they often reject old role models and make a supreme effort to be a new individual. Although their peers have influence on them.

  As adults, should we still be imitators, or should we cast aside all role models? Should we explore our own psyches more fully? Can we trust our inner selves? Must we deny certain parts of our own make up, striving at some ideal, which we are not, at the present time? Is it possible to be a nonimitator, totally unique?

  For myself, i have rejected the christian doctrine of utter depravity, ie that we are sinful at the core. The doctrine robs one of any hope of being able to trust one's own self. If one can't trust oneself, who can one trust?

  SS open for comments
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  teejay

  Being truly independent from the influences of others is impossible. Parents imprint their personalities on us when we are very young and at our most impressionable. Whether we like it or not or want to or not, our personalities (including thoughts and behaviors) are shaped by them.

  As we age, others come to influence us too, often sub-consciously. It's unreasonable to think that in adulthood one can reshape their personality and become someone new. To a limited extent we can discard a thought or a behavior that we feel is damaging to us or others, but it takes a lot of work. However, the core of who we are is set in stone by the time we're five or six years old.

  Just my two... before heading out to meet the mule (going to work).
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  onacruse

  Coincidental similarity of behavior shouldn't be misinterpreted as imitation. The fact that we are all humans, with the characteristic imprints of our respective cultures and envirionment, does NOT, imho, mean that "we are who we are" by the time we are 5 or 6. Our psyche can be as dynamic, or static, as we want it to be. True, there are some (many? most?) people that do remain relatively unchanged, but that is not a necessary and inevitable fact of life.

  Personality is defined by behavior, and behavior is stimulated by our belief structure. So, if our beliefs change substantially, then ultimately our personality will also change. Using myself as an example...

  1) I used to be totally preoccupied with cerebral pursuits, and have only in the last few months discovered the thrill of my emotional self. As a result, my interests and behavior are changing considerably, and hence also my personality;

  2) I used to believe that the Bible was inerrant. In the last few months I have seriously modified my viewpoint on that, and as a result my behavior has changed considerably, hence also my personality.

  3) I used to unequivocally honor my parents, in virtually every way. Recently, I have come to see rather clearly how they are living (as dubs) in a make-believe world of denial (like I was). I still have deep respect for them, but have totally rejected that part of their "imprinting" on me...hence my personality has changed.

  I still desire input and perspective from other people, but fundamentally, I DO trust myself.

  Craig

  PS: And that last is itself another personality change....up to this point in my life, I HAVEN'T trusted myself.

  Edited by - onacruse on 30 September 2002 8:31:13
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  Satanus

  I read about some cases of identical twins that were separated at birth, and later compared in some studies. There were quite q lot of similarities in their tastes and even ocupations. This shows that the genetic has a huge influence.

  SS
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  animal

  While I agree for the most part, I dont think there is much in life that is static. While we may mimic our parents as kids, or our siblings, we all reach a point (when mentally healthy) where we can find ourselves. Some people dont want to, some people can't, but the majority manage fine in cutting thier own course thru life.

  Coming from a fatherless home, I always gravitated towards the older guys around me, father figures. There are loads of humorus stories related to that, with my piss poor judgement abilities. That said, I eventually found my own way to do things. None of it involved religion, and I didnt have the need for a role model. I learned to follow my gut. I trust it, but not many people, for the decisions that involve me or my family. I am teaching the kids about "the gut" now, and they are enjoying it.

  Animal
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  minimus

  Imitation could be the greatest form of flattery, and that ain't so bad.
• 

  Satanus

  Maybe life is basically made up of stages. When we are young, we imitate. As we grow older we differentiate ourselves more. Eastern thought emphasizes a turning inward, ignoring much that is fed in from the outside. It shows the way to find our true self, intigrating all the parts. I believe that this would remove all forms of imitation. As some people have said, be true to yourself .

  SS
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  Introspection

  As my zen teacher would say, there is no such thing as "fake it till you make it" in spirituality. Of course, he's not exactly a teacher, and in this he would agree with me. I've come to see spiritual teacher almost as a contradiction in terms, in fact it is in the absolute sense. One idea that is revolutionary in the sense of being very different even among the eastern camp is that enlightenment can co-exist with conditioning, in fact if you're still a human it has to. The thing is though, you no longer take it seriously.

  But as far as imitation goes, it can be behavior which you see in yourself which would then come naturally, that is to say someone else is displaying or expressing something which you weren't able to express before, and on the other hand one can try to imitate something that is against their own nature because it's a good idea. I think this is where ideas become dangerous. It is possible for one's own nature to be expressed in a good way, which can manifest in very different ways - it makes no sense to stifle that just because you only know it to look a certain way, which is really missing the point. Smells like the whole idolatry business if you ask me.
• 

  Satanus

  Intro

  I always appreciate your well thought out comments.

  Imitation = idolatry, hmmm, that could be. But since i'm non religious, i wouldn't nesesarily say that it is always wrong to do that. After all, in children it is natural Thanks again.

  SS
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  Introspection

  Imitation = idolatry, hmmm, that could be. But since i'm non religious, i wouldn't nesesarily say that it is always wrong to do that. After all, in children it is natural

  Not at all, and of course children don't take it religiously. The problem comes in when people take some 'thing' as sacred or a substitute for life, whether it's a thought/belief, behavior or whatever. As far as kids are concerned, I'd think they're just playing. But adults seems to take it very seriously, although it's kind of ironic that they seem to miss this aspect of the word "imitate" that points to that which is fake! To play pretend is one thing, to really take that seriously is a sign of mental illness.