To thine own self be true?
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Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 59
To paraphrase what Polonius says: If you're true to yourself then you necessarily can't be false with others. This seems absurd to me, because it depends on the kind of person who is "being true" to themselves. So it's not necessarily true as Polonius says it is. Some people are selfish and being true to themselves just means being selfish. Some are virtuous, soit would be different for them.
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Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 2,950
Originally Posted by EndGameNYC 
There's a big difference here. Words only have meaning insofar as what meaning we give them. Like it or not, once you know that items were planted on Storage Wars, you can't unknow it. Two very different things.
There is no evidence in his writing that Shakespeare intended to convey the idea that being true to oneself is a bad thing. The word 'true' meant something very different at that time than it did hundreds of years later. More like in archery, when your aim is "true." Doesn't mean honest or faithful, more like on the mark, or an aim that is "right." The characters are fictional, and are meant to bring to life the reality that everything in life is not as it seems to be. Though I'd still be careful about taking in unsolicited counsel from foolish people.
There is no evidence in his writing that Shakespeare intended to convey the idea that being true to oneself is a bad thing. The word 'true' meant something very different at that time than it did hundreds of years later. More like in archery, when your aim is "true." Doesn't mean honest or faithful, more like on the mark, or an aim that is "right." The characters are fictional, and are meant to bring to life the reality that everything in life is not as it seems to be. Though I'd still be careful about taking in unsolicited counsel from foolish people.
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Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 936
This quote goes to core of my disease, even though I've heard that we in AA use it differently than Shakespeare intended.
If I'm lying to myself or others, I am not being true to myself.
If I am self-seeking--acting out in ways to get you to act the way my ego wants so that it feels secure--I am not being true to myself.
If I am acting out in pride--allowing my feelings to be hurt based on what you say to me or how you act--I am not being true to myself.
I am only being true to myself if I am being true to God and not true to ego.
If I'm lying to myself or others, I am not being true to myself.
If I am self-seeking--acting out in ways to get you to act the way my ego wants so that it feels secure--I am not being true to myself.
If I am acting out in pride--allowing my feelings to be hurt based on what you say to me or how you act--I am not being true to myself.
I am only being true to myself if I am being true to God and not true to ego.
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