Follow Your Bliss
by Cora Foerstner on September 8, 2010
My last entry considered The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Lisbeth as a character. In the interim, I’ve seen the two Swedish movies based on the first two books, and I’ve come to view Mikael Blomkvist as a more dynamic, admirable character than I did at first. I think Lisbeth is so engaging that she overwhelms everything else. While she intrigues and captures a reader’s heart, Mikael is study, tenacious, and dependable in the chaos.
Between this entry and the last, I’ve been finishing up a writing project to meet a looming deadline. I’ve finished the writing project and have turned my attention to my fantasy novel. Reviewing my novel, I continue to think about strong women and men, specifically Gwendolyn my protagonist.
The novel is about a young woman’s journey to find herself and her purpose in life. She begins her journey wanting to prove her worth to her father; as the story unfolds, she discovers herself. By the end of the book, she is stronger, more self-assured, and knows herself in ways that she didn’t at the beginning of the book.
It sounds like every coming of age story; however, two things stick out as I revisit this story: 1) role models: people we find inspiring; people who have overcome great adversity; people who live a worthy life; people who live by their principles—they inspire us to live differently, and 2) life purpose: Joseph Campbell said “follow your bliss”; the old saying, “don’t die with the music still in you”; Henry David Thoreau said, “Most men lead quiet lives of desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”
What I’m considering is that society and education teaches us to be cautious, to follow the rules, and to conform. We, the general masses, believe we should live cautiously. Yet those people who become our role models aren’t cautious: they follow their bliss; they sing their songs; they fight their fights with passion. Women and men we admire, those who are strong, do the things we dream of doing, follow their dreams, point the way and shine their light on what might be.
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Hi, good post. I have been pondering this topic,so thanks for sharing. I’ll likely be coming back to your posts. Keep up the good work
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Yes, Susan, humor and taking ourselves lightly is key. Fear in all its forms gets us into trouble. I think you have said this nicely. I recently read a book called Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. One of the things she said was that we should learn to take risks (she wasn’t talking about things that might harm or hurt, but risks as in doing the things that we are afraid of doing, like calling someone and inviting her or him to dinner). One thing she pointed out, which I love, is that wouldn’t it be great if parents said to their children as they were leaving, “Take some risks today, and enjoy life” rather than the standard, “Be careful.” My mother is 82 and still tells me, “Be careful.” Thanks for the Alice quotation. Ah, it’s the journey.
I think what makes us strong is getting over our fear of failure. And I think we often fear failure because we take ourselves too seriously—we worry about what others will think of us if we don’t conform, we worry about our “reputations,” we worry about looking “foolish” or “dumb,” we worry about letting go and being spontaneous because we’re so afraid we might say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, hurt someone’ feelings, offend someone, etc. I think the very strongest people are those who have a good sense of humor, can appreciate the whimsical and random nature of life, aren’t afraid to look foolish, and aren’t afraid to make a mistake. And they aren’t afraid to make a mistake because they’re not afraid to stand up and take responsibility for it: apologize for it, fix it, make up for it, pay for it, whatever—and then laugh at it and forget it.
I try to keep in mind the following from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland:
“Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?
That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, said the Cat.
I don’t much care where, said Alice.
Then it doesn’t matter which way you go, said the Cat.”
Rachel, thank you for sharing the Susan B. Anthony quotation. It’s great. I think I’ll use it for my email signature. She was someone who sang her own tune! I like “you are living a life unlike anyone else.” That says it all. If we remember our uniqueness and live true to ourselves, we live a more honest life. Of course, that is easier said than done and something I struggle to attain. Knowing ourselves first, loving ourselves, and then we can live our lives authentically.
I have always loved this quote:
“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation.”
– Susan B. Anthony
It is not the timid people of history that are remembered, but those who sang their own tune. Living a life different from everyone else can be hard and discouraging until you realize that you are living a life unlike anyone else.
Thank you for the wonderful post reminding us of this!
Julie Ann, I too wonder what Lisbeth would have done with the rest of her life. I wished that Stieg Larsson hadn’t died, so we could have had more stories about Lisbeth. The last book gives me hope that she is at least a fraction more open to friendship. Good characters can help us to be more courageous in our lives.
Thoughtfully provocative! Thank you for reminding me in this world of “do it now” it is enough to read, admire and become inspired by the characters of someone’s imagination. Lisbeth did not give up and even though the odds were against her she courageously fought and won. I’m wondering what she might have done with the rest of her life?
Thanks, Carol. I’m reading through my novel to get back into the groove so I can finish the last couple of chapters. In thinking about what makes us strong, I believe it’s that willingness to stand up and fight, to take risks, and follow life where it leads us. Our great heroes do that. They stand, when the rest of us sit. They act, when the rest of us tremble in fear. What makes some people risk takers, while most people aren’t? I’m not sure that I know the answers. But I’d like to know!!
I love this, Cora. It’s true–We worry; we are careful and obsessive; we try not to take risks or make mistakes; yet, our heroes do all of these things. And, Lisbeth is certainly a hero! I love her and her refusal to be victimized. Great post, Cora!
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