Self Reliance

Todd Hayen

I was first introduced to the brilliance of Ralph Waldo Emerson when studying the principles of Science of Mind over 20 years ago. His essay “Self Reliance” written in 1841 is probably his most popular treatise. I picked it up to read again, probably for the fourth time, a few weeks ago.

Although, for me at least, it is not an easy read. Anything written over 100 years ago (closer to 200 now) has an archaic style to it that is not easy on contemporary brains. He also uses antiquated vocabulary. But the important points are easy to “get” as they tend to jump off the page at you. How about these:

Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.

and…

Envy is ignorance, Imitation is Suicide.

or…

Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind.

and…

God will not have his work made manifest by cowards.

and…

Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist.

And many, many more . . . I will share a few more as we go along.

The primary thrust of the essay is to say that people must trust their own individual voice. Emerson defines self-reliance as the need for each person to avoid conformity and false consistency, and instead, follow their own instincts and ideas. He argues that true self-reliance is a deep trust in one’s own thoughts and inner voice, rather than relying on external approval or societal norms.

What could resonate more powerfully in today’s environment than such words? So, we may then ask, why should we trust our own words and inner voice? Emerson was a transcendentalist, and a primary tenet of transcendentalism is a firm belief that each person contains a piece of the divine and that by trusting oneself, one is also trusting the divine within. This inner divinity connects individuals to a higher spiritual truth and universal moral laws.

And isn’t this exactly what is largely missing from our culture today—a connection with higher spiritual truth and universal moral laws? I believe that in order for each of us to trust ourselves and trust our voice, we have to first be in alignment with God, which is the ultimate Truth. I do not mean we have to be “religious” (although we can be) and believe in the dogma of any particular organized religion, but we have to be aware of, and know, Truth through a belief and faith in God—and this God can be defined in a variety of ways.

Emerson says again and again in his essay that we must be willing to always express ourselves, that our opinions are sacred, and that we must do all that we can to avoid falling into the trap of repetition, or consensus for the sake of consensus. Our primary goal should not be to please others, or to repeat the past, or to appear palatable with the mainstream agreement.

I do not think ol’ Waldo was saying we should spout off information we have no personal knowledge of nor evidence to support, but rather that we must be open to convey our opinion about information. Whether we agree or disagree, or whether we see moral conflict, or whether we even find fault in information that we did not personally gather ourselves (such as what is touted as “settled science”).

Emerson probably still had room for “experts” (but not experts he could not question!) I have to admit that I have been a bit brainwashed with the best of us, and do find myself holding back with certain thoughts and opinions if I feel I am not “well enough informed” to have a valid recourse.

How often have you heard about the stupid people on Facebook? Blabbing out their inexpert opinions on medicine, science, or politics? “People should just keep their mouths shut about the vaccines, or Covid, if they are not virologists, immunologists, or vaccinologists.” At times I have found myself being drawn into this sort of anti-Emerson thinking.

No, we are all experts regarding our own perspective, opinion, and understanding. This is what Emerson I believe is talking about in his essay. We must not be silenced, either by others, or, most importantly, by ourselves.

We all have a “gut feeling” and an intuitive response to the world and the happenings in it. We must never quell any of this divine messaging. “Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.”

I believe that Emerson was saying we were all given a little patch of God’s world that is ours, and ours alone. Here we are indeed experts, and the special way that we see the world can be useful to everyone else around us. “To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men—that is genius.”

He continues to describe the unique perspective, and knowledge, we all bring to the world, and how we cannot rely on others in our expression of our own voice, “. . . that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till.”

So, we must never be afraid to speak our mind, regardless of our seemingly “inexpert” observations and opinions. If we are in alignment with God, with Truth, then we are delivering the fruits of our destiny—to bring forth into this world what we have specifically been put here to contribute.

I will end this article with another quote—which will hopefully inspire you to read the entire essay—

If we live truly, we shall see truly. It is as easy for the strong man to be strong, as it is for the weak to be weak . . . When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn.

You can find the complete essay online in several places, here is one link to try.

Todd Hayen PhD is a registered psychotherapist practicing in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He holds a PhD in depth psychotherapy and an MA in Consciousness Studies. He specializes in Jungian, archetypal, psychology. Todd also writes for his own substack, which you can read here