Journal #40

Whitman's "Self" is supposedly the same in every single person, and when he found what "Self" was, he would be able to figure things out and let it apply to everyone in the entire world. I disagree with Whitman, in that I do not think that "Self" is the same in every single person. I think that every person is different, because everyone has their own unique traits, characteristics, personality, and reactions. Everyone reacts to things differently. Some people are calm in the face of danger and do not show their reactions at all, while some people totally freak out and let their emotions play across their faces like they are an open book. Some people are not easily scared, while others jump when the toaster pops with their toast. Some people are incredibly organized, while others are so messy, that they can not find anything that they ever need. On a deeper level, some people believe in Christianity, some in Buddhism, some in Hinduism, some in Muslim, some believe in Scientology, some in Atheism, and people believe everything in between. Those are more philosophical thoughts, and if people do not believe the same thing, how can they have the same "Self"? At the same time, though, people normally all have the same wants and desires on a basic level. We all need food, water, and shelter, and we all want to be loved and cared about. No one in the world can say that they would be able to live on their own their whole lives, because we were made so that we, by human nature, need to have company. If we do not have people or pets around us, we will make something into company, as "Wilson" was created in "Castaway". People may not all believe the same things and not think that all of the same things are true and correct, but we have some of the same needs on a basic level, so it depends on where one is searching for "Self".