Self-Suffering by Anh Tu Nguyen Photography, on Flickr
You ever worry about the gap between real self and ideal self? Most people have a gap between their real self and their ideal self called incongruity. The greater the gap, the more incongruity. The more incongruity, the more suffering.
Have you ever remembered the envious feeling when you saw someone having the active, in-tuned life you wanted? When you saw someone with such incredibly gifted talent? What's stopping us from living our life?
We are all influenced by those around us to some degree – in particular by those who help develop us in our most formative years, and whom we love and generally look up to - our parents. We grow up, innocently absorbing and latching onto their values, hopes and aspirations, unwittingly making them our own. And of course, there's society's standard which also strongly influence our behaviours and the way we choose to live our lives.
But what do you really want in life? What makes you happy, what makes you passionate? If you are lucky (and smart), you will start asking these questions early on in life. And, although anytime is a good time to start the journey to self-discovery, the earlier you do it, the more quickly you will come to understand who you really are and the sooner you will aspire to be, accept, and embrace that person.
I got so much emotion hooked-up retouching this piece because i had been there once: didn't feel happy, found this life frustrated, had no goal and dream in life, felt a self-suffering and self-conflict taking place in me. Until i found Photography. It has taken me on a self-discovery journey and it has changed my life forever.