What Be Yourself Means

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I finally understand what Be Yourself truthfully means now. To establish the definition I have to establish some key elements with language.

1. Language is not just written words and dictionary definitions. It also includes the subtext or undertone of the surrounding culture. It is the unstated thoughts and assumptions people in a surrounding area have which includes their underlying beliefs and emotions as well. Culture can include but not limited to a society, country, family, people in a local region. Even culture can be centered on a game or pastime like Baseball. Even the in the men’s locker room can be considered a culture sometimes. It’s very complex and we’re getting into anthropology and sociology.

2. When people speak, sometimes people can speak in a form of verbal shorthand. Example, when I went on the phone I told them my order which was "A large cheese, hand tossed pizza with pepperoni." They asked if I wanted a drink or bread sticks. I would say "no thank you." They would repeat the order and say that you wanted a large. I would say "No, I want a large cheese, hand tossed pizza with pepperoni." We had a semi-argument for about a minute until I realized we were talking about the same thing. In the social subtext the word large = A large cheese, hand tossed pizza with pepperoni. In addition, one can say a large cheese with pepperoni as well.

3. Now that I’ve established this background, the phrase “Be Yourself” is actually a form of verbal shorthand of “Be Your Best Self” or “Be True to Your Best Self.” What does Be Your Best Self mean? How do you Be Your Best Self? The best self is situational dependent. It depends upon the culture, sub-culture, group, family or whomever one is dealing with. For example, if one is with his grandmother is the best self the one who curses like a sailor? More than likely, the answer will be no. In the men’s locker room, more than likely it will be a different story. Employers, depending upon the employer, will expect a certain best self as well.

4. Since be yourself means Be Your Best Self and Be Your Best Self is situational dependent this implies that there is no universal meaning to being one’s best self and if this is true then it is true that there is no universal meaning to Being Yourself either.

5. What we Autistics tend to do is to take this phrase literally and concretely. This is not what most normal people do. The meaning of Be Yourself is exactly the same as Be Your Best Self which means to use one’s situation as a guide to picking out the best self. It means one has to conform to what the situation warrants. Just because one situation warrants this as a best self doesn’t mean this best self applies in other situations as well even though it can.

6. If one can’t be the best self the situation demands than try to avoid the situation and be in situations one can be his best self. For example, Dr. Morris Berman who wrote a trilogy on “Why America Failed” morally can’t be the best self that American culture demands of him. So, what did Dr. Berman do? He went to Mexico and has shined brightly.

7. What I can definitely say is that language is more complex than just the literal and concrete definitions to them. To really understand, one can’t use pure concrete and logical thinking. One has to peel back the layers of the nature of the surrounding culture one is dealing in and there can be more than one sub-culture one is dealing with on a consistent basis.

8. The true self is all of the roles one is required to play from time to time in his given culture.

9. This means the true self in one's given culture is chosen for you. You do not get to define the true self.

OF course it is okay if that is what BEING YOURSELF MEANS TO YOU,
as far as conforming to cultural norms the best way one can, at hand.

But no, 'BE YOURSELF' is often to defy cultural expectations. Cultural expectations are usually based on the need to control human nature for orderly processes to make huge populations work without undue distraction or potential chaos.

The sad thing about this is; it often leads to unhealthy behavior. The examples of this are far reaching; but perhaps the most widely understood example is the one of sitting behind a desk in front of a computer all day, dealing with the stresses of work place life; or even at home dealing with the flight or fight stress of playing a VIOLENT video game, sitting still hours at a time.

The human body is EVOLVED to move to burn off stress chemicals that when chronically experienced without moving will eventually destroy the living systems of the human body. THE BODY IS ALSO EVOLVED TO MOVE, OR HUMAN WEAKNESS AKA ATROPHY WILL OCCUR, making a human into a 'domesticated worm'; instead of walking tall 'WILD' social animal with head held high moving from core muscles in abdomen, instead of lower back leaning ways.

And yes, this is a proven fact in science.

So people are told to do 'this'; it becomes culturally accepted,
and meanwhile human beings as naturally evolved
SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES, in terms
of potential eventual horrible health.

Additionally, like sitting still that in reality is the worst physical movement, as even sitting still requires the same muscles and body position used statically in fine muscle movement; ALL FORMS of repetitive human movement will eventually lead to ergonomic injury and potentially semi to permanent functional disability.

Even walking on treadmills and ellipticals and such as that promotes the same movement over and over regardless of benefit of lower impact of running.

Well, running is for fight or FLIGHT. Being invisible is for EVOLVED foragers moving in a golden spiral flow instead of in straight sidewalk lines, to escape the notice of prey and predator.

So this is how I move now, all the time, everywhere I go, to the amazement and sometimes dismay of the cultural crowd that observes this natural and NOT culturally prescribed way of sticking to the sidewalk and aisles of life IN repetitive motion moves of a human way out of naturally evolved WACK.

Sometimes being yourself just means being what one is naturally evolved to be; human, instead of robot.

If it talks and walks like a robot, chances are it is not fully human.

I ain't the crazy one by far. And for ME, being MYSELF, is simply being human, in how humans are truly evolved to be.

But do not try to convince 'robots' of that; as social acceptance often means stuff like female genital mutilation and walking in insane straight lines on sidewalks.

Culture is complicated AND INSANE, and folks will do almost anything PRESCRIBED AS the social norm REQUIRES IT for social acceptance.

The cheese thingy; is just taking stuff literally. And that's not limited to a so-called disorder named as autism; it is just the metaphor of detail or left brain narrow thinking.

There are exercises in life, like reading and commenting on poetry, as a way of increasing human potential to get much better at metaphors in life; not unlike learning to move like a REAL NATURALLY EVOLVED human all innately, instinctually and intuitively, instead of a robot on a sidewalk that is the way our culture de-inspires folks to move.

It starts when children are young. One can see children twirling around and getting used to the mind and body in balance. And then the mother or father in Super-Walmart says keep it straight; NO PLAYING IN HERE.

PLAY IS LIFE; NOT ROBOT WALK, OR LIVING LIKE A ROBOT in mechanical cognition, as culture says
from the time we are young; you must do this to survive, STARTING IN PRE K, or before by other
ways OF ROBOT LIFE.

Anyway, this is my favorite song about that:



Some folks 'see' a much greater balanced human reality.

And other folks truly never even live one now, simply,

as another balanced animal in homeostasis AKA
bliss or the nirvana of the heaven of now;
the stuff that real FLESH AND BLOOD
JESUS DUDE IS TALKING ABOUT
WAY BACK THEN; and folks
LIKE BRUCE LEE
talk about
in modern
days.

And that is perhaps the saddest thing in the
Universe, named as human or NOT to never truly enjoy
the
gift
of
LIFE.

And are straight line sentences the best way to communicate.

Culture says yes; but my mind and body wants to grow and not stay
the same robot as yesterday. All one has to do is listen to their
soul, heart, and express their spirit in creative ways instead
of what the robot of culture demands in a system of life
that truly is, overall, INSANE.

When folks in real flesh and blood life ask me how in the hell can I leg
press 930LBS on a parallel leg press machine with my arms raised in the
air, 14 times slowly and surely, in a technique that no other human being
is evidenced to do on any YouTube source, I tell them it is rather simple.

I simply use all the muscles in my legs when I move; not 20 percent or
so; so do the math; that is why I am somewhere around 3 to 4 to 5 times
stronger in leg strength than the average human being walking
the sidewalks of life.

And why my martial arts kicks look more like Bruce Lee
than Chuck Norris; as Bruce Lee knows that strength
training will make a person faster; and not
limit them in movement like the
old 'wives tales', does just
suggest, then.

There is science to all of what I am stating here.

But culture does not go by the rules of the bio-mechanics
of naturally classically evolved human being.
Culture can be as insane as it wants to be.

And humans will blindly follow
on

the sidewalks of life.

The sidewalks of life, as metaphor, are responsible
for great human misery, suffering, and overall weakness
as an animal that is truly devolving, in epigenetic terms,
in one lifetime of doing amazingly
insane cultural prescribed stuff.

I have the advantage of not being worried about what folks
tell me, as I have undomesticated myself and am seriously
as fearless as a Lion in human terms, at around 230LBS of
Martial ARTS 'ass' kicking half a ton power.

So nah, this is almost impossible for folks to do
who are not strong enough in being their
naturally evolved self, when the robot
population says no no no no THAT'S
not what 'THEY' TOLD ME TO
DO..

AND with that in closing here is another
song about a 'WALL that illustrates
that issue very well:



Cultural Environmental factors are a major factor for increasing rates
of Autism; it mirrors the rise of the machine of computers as humans
become machines, almost perfectly in timing, starting in the 90's.

But do not try to tell a world that depend on humans
becoming machines to change this now;
As the machine is already set in
motion. And for many people,
'1984', is already now; in
many more ways
than THAT
book and other works
of fiction like the 'Matrix'
and 'Terminator' series
metaphorically suggests.

'I'm BACK'.

And for all practical
intents and purposes
'I AM NEO',
BOTH AS only
metaphor,
please..

OTHER FOLKS
have the potential
of 'coming
BACK',
in being
'resurrected'
in life

AS WELL...

To 'JUST Do IT',
is the hard part.

Once one does; it's almost
impossible to go back to that
other place, of human misery.

The term "just be yourself" is usually heard from the lips of elders coaching young folks in how to deal with stressful social situations (asking someone out on a date, going to a party, or job interviews, or college entrance interviews).

It usually means "just relax", and "don't try to be someone that you're not". In specific situations it doesnt look good to try too hard to...look good.

The phrase is a cue to relax. It's not meant to be thought about deeply.

If you make the mistake of responding to the phrase by actually THINKING about it...you will realize that the phrase doesnt actually make much literal sense, and you will kinda miss the point. If you actually think about the phrase- you get caught up in "if I have to be myself then who AM I..." which is an unanswerable question (whether there even is such a thing as a 'real you' is debatable), and you will never get off your rear to ask the girl out, or go to the job interview at all!

But yes- when you are 'being yourself' in public its also a good idea to..."put your best foot forward"(ie be your 'best self').