Being a dancer for fifteen years of my life truly taught me the importance of learning how to express myself without words. My art form allowed me to express emotions, stories, ballads all with my body, and not with my words. While this was difficult at times, I believe that it taught me a lot of what I know and how I know to express my thoughts, feelings, and emotions in a productive way. By having an open space to freely express art, I learned the importance of being able to communicate both with words and your body.
All of this to say, I feel that the value of free expression that most resonates with me is individual self-fulfillment [aka Self-Actualization]. When reflecting on the importance of self-actualization in free expression, I came across an article identifying key characteristics of those who have achieved self-actualization. These individuals are marked by a sense of purpose. Purpose of life, purpose of character, purpose of growing. They have a sense of appreciation for the journey of life and have learned to accept the successes and failures that life throws at them. In so many ways this describes the life that I am living. I see each day as a new journey that I vow to put my best foot forward in. Over the years I have learned to accept that my life is not about pleasing those around me. My purpose is learning, growing, and living the life I have called to live, regardless of others' impressions of me. Along with this, University California at Berkley has examined the concept in term of Professor Abraham Maslow. Under Maslow’s theory, acquiring self-awareness, allows us to find contentment and meaning in our lives that we so desire. Rather than adhering to social norms and pressures, we can choose the direction in which our lives will go.
Above is a perfect graphic describing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. This theory dates back to 1943 when Maslow first published this theory in "A Theory of Human Motivation". When tying self-expression to the realm of self-actualization, you can see that there are quite a few steps necessary in order to achieve the ultimate goal of self-actualization. This revelation is not able to be done without preparation of the mind, body, and spirit collectively. The one word that this hierarchy relates back to is the premise of being in need. There is not only a need for physical satisfaction, but emotional and safety as well. Simple Psychology best explains that these needs and desires can be expressed in a multitude of ways. No matter the type or urgency of the need for the individual, those needs have to be met in order for the person to achieve the state of actualization that they so desire.
Along with me discovering that individual self-fulfillment is the most important value to expression to me, this reflection also revealed that stable change [aka Safety Valve] is the method in which I do not preferably resonate with.
Surprisingly, I am an individual who is okay with healthy conflict. This may sound shocking because of my introverted personality. However, I feel that healthy conflict can lead to many great benefits. Healthy conflict allows individuals a safe space to work through disagreements with the intention of growing and improving current situations. These situations allow for individuals to work through stages of compromise, communication, and consensus. Though it may be difficult in the moment, these situations provide growth for everyone involved. The concept of healthy conflict is the exact opposite of the definition of stable change. Unfortunately, stable change suggests that citizens are just allow a space to “vent” in an attempt to avoid violence. Without citizens having the capabilities to conflict in a healthy way, the tension between different groups within the society will grow and not be handled in an appropriate manner.
Differentiations of self-expression in a society are completely healthy. Without those differentiations, all members of society would be carbon copies of one another. Having these different ways to self-express also comes with the learning curve of accepting others different forms of self-expressions. Therefore, accepting and embracing these in a healthy, communicative way is more beneficial than simply expressing complaints of others’ self-expressions. Overall, it seems as though the stable change method is not the most beneficial way of accepting self-expression in a society.
My personal take on the values of self-expression differs greatly from the person writing next to me. That right there is the beauty of what makes each of us unique in our own way. We each see the world from a different lens. These different lenses allow us to see, interpret, and express our feelings, emotions, and attitudes in unique ways every day. Keep being you and expressing that to others in a healthy, safe, and encouraging way ◡̈
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