The Alchemy Of History

“History is for human self-knowledge… the only clue to what man can do is what man has done.” - R.G. Collingwood

Who we are now is formed by who we used to be. Who we would be, regardless of what we seem to desire, would be predicated on how aware we are of our history and our ability to spin its content into possibilities.

We all have different content within our historical camp-bag. And so, the interaction, engagement, behavior, and reality we would all experience as a result of our history would vary from person to person. It can either mark us for good or for bad. It can either become an emblem representing courage or a mask illustrating fury.

Regardless of the past you may have—from childhood calamities to painful patterns to fierce failures, my goal for writing this essay is that you find the courage to look again and to knead the unyielding dough of your experiences into something new and hopeful.

It’s essential to recognize that a fundamental step to alchemy is the realization of pain or anomaly. The fact that you can recognize a mishap or inconsistency is proof an alchemy can occur.

Alchemy is a word I would use rather loosely throughout this essay. Hence, a simple explanation of the word would suffice to aid your understanding and foster application.

Alchemy, in the words of Paulo Coelho, is the process of transforming the every day into the extraordinary.

For context, see the dictionary’s definition below;

Metaphorically, alchemy is turning basic to exemplary. Utilizing elements that ordinarily may not function well together to create gold.

The process of leveraging your history to build out a masterpiece of your life is what I have referred to as “The Alchemy of History”. It is a genius’s ability to utilize the debris of their history to create distinction in the present and foreseeable future.

To create this distinction, an alchemy is required. Where you can shift from possibility blindness to possibility paradigms, from childhood calamities to childhood closure, from fatal failures to learned success, and from basic to distinct.

We often underestimate how much our past influences our present—regardless of our level of enlightenment. We do not see the internal and intangible workings of our biases, patterns, childhood, and un-investigated worldview.

As we grow, we are often led to believe in the flickers we experience as result to be tangible representation of our evolution. This is nothing close to the truth. Hence, as we move—it’s like crawling up an ice-board. It’s all looking good as you crawl until holes begin to burst open from different points and in a bid to cover up all holes at once, you end up being stuck. This is the shadow of evolution. When you overestimate your supposed truth, it creates anomalies you may choose to attribute to something you can’t explain (or choose not to investigate).

It’s a lot easier to read patterns as unexplained occurrences or supernatural phenomena. Now, this does not in any way negate the presence of a phenomenon that defies logic. However, it questions the ease at which we are quick to admit to something beyond us because of how arrogantly we overestimate our truth.

We all are products of history, marked by our unique experiences and cultivated through patterns. Our level of exposure allows us to polish this up and express ourselves in ways that are acceptable though inauthentic, albeit unconscious. However, it doesn’t change the idea that we are formed through history.

Many try living by running away from this history to chart a favorable course. Only for this to work for a while and the reality creates a new problem —a life of endless spirals. Where you keep running and running till you realize that the only solution is to stand still and create an alchemy out of your history.

Fundamentally, this is a challenge in the self-help industry. There is a subconscious (maybe innocent) portrayal of avoidance. Where we lean towards avoiding who we used to be to stand in the strength of who we want to be. The reality is, you cannot build a house from the top. A foundation is required and the foundation that was formed for the house you seek to build is what determines the outlook of the house.

Ironically, we want to ignore the foundation to build the house we desire. Think about it logically, how does this make sense?

We try not to bother about our history failing to recognize its unseen hand of governance. It is probable that this isn’t visible within your current area of interest or pursuit but visible in another. You then, make excuses for this anomaly or, create a narrative that supports this mishap without question.

Again and again, in a bid to form your life’s narrative, you create more patterns of pain and misery, slowing down your progress toward meaning and genius.

The reality is, regardless of where you've been—you can bloom again.

Shadows of History - A soft glance at childhood

Here’s the thing about parenting, we are largely not patented to be healthy “genius” adults. Rather, we are parented to be good, compliant, and obedient adults. While this may pose moral standing and uprightness in society, it fundamentally teaches the child a view of right or wrong and the lens of what is acceptable and what is not. The problem with this is the unintentional prison it puts us in.

We grow up reflecting this schooling system across board; from our mindset towards work and survival to our posture towards purpose and prosperity to our position in relationships and the various boxes of our life’s expression generally.

It is as though we are almost doomed to be less than we ought to be—even when we think we are being more than average.

I guess I should speak to the concept of thinking you are being more than average in a paragraph.

When we make attempts towards transformation, we take different forms—for the sake of what I intend to communicate, I speak to the form of mental superiority. Where, you believe yourself to be better than others and thus, use this idea of superiority to define the boundary of your potential. The challenge with this however is that it is inconsequential to measure potential versus the averageness of mediocrity. That is, you cannot compare the elevation of your mind and establish superiority based on the dumbness of the masses. It gives you a lever to feel like you’ve arrived but the object of your focus and conclusion is false because that which you measure against should never be the parameter in the first place.

But then, it’s an unconscious culture of our soul. When we think we experience some liberation, we find solace in superiority when in reality, we are doomed to stay spiraling.

This historical shadow dents our current reality by influencing our behaviors, actions, and processes. It becomes essential to pay attention to the blind spots generated by this shadow.

The past never eludes us. It only finds different ways to reveal its light and darkness. This is how history repeats itself. It’s a system of consistent upgrades.

The concept—”Shadows of History”refers to the lingering influences of past experiences that shape our present behaviors and beliefs. By shedding light on these hidden aspects of our narratives, we gain deeper insight into the forces that drive our actions and decisions.

It is who we used to be that culminates in who we currently are.

Two Ways Foolishness Manifests

Foolishness represents a lack of good sense or judgment. It speaks to the inability of the human mind to create accurate thought, form accurate judgment, and accurately criticize relevant information.

The term foolishness is used as a vulgar term usually in a condescending way to bruise the ego or person of another. This isn’t only wrong, it is madness because going by the core of what it means to be foolish, we all have elements of foolishness and may express this foolishness in different ways when the opportunity presents itself.

My cue in this essay segment is basically to show you two significant ways foolishness manifests in a bid to bring perspective to our subject of deliberation.

These are the two ways;

1. The Pride Of Knowledge

2. The Ignorance Of Not Seeing Patterns

The Pride Of Knowledge:

Knowledge is a burden and, the accumulation of information can erroneously suggest the presence of wisdom and accurate understanding. That is, we can assume what we know and understand accurately on the bed of excess information.

The arrogance of assuming information when knowledge consistently never matches reality is what I refer to as the pride of knowledge. You are so high on your supply yet the supply is inconsistent with the demand. It’s as though you know so much yet know nothing.

In the levels of genius I described in my essay “The Paradox of Genius”, those who fall into arrogant awareness are usually found with the pride of knowledge. The challenge with this is how it prevents you from sight and illumination that transcends your current limitations and facilitates the alchemy of your history.

A person who has the pride of knowledge is most likely to repeat history consistently, creating a narrative where he feels correct and in control.

The Pride of Knowledge can be a subtle yet potent barrier to personal growth and transformation. When we become entrenched in our own perceived wisdom, we close ourselves off to new perspectives and possibilities. This arrogance blinds us to the potential for alchemy within our histories, as we believe we already possess all the answers. Thus, rather than engaging in the transformative process of self-reflection and introspection, we remain stagnant, repeating the same patterns of behavior and thought.

To mitigate this is to do the opposite; it is to shift away from our illusion of knowledge and embrace thought that challenges our blind spots. It is stepping down from our high horse of supposed smartness to embrace humility, recognizing the boundaries of our understanding, and adopting an approach that allows us to mine the depths for our most valuable insights, yielding our finest gold.

The Ignorance Of Not Seeing Patterns

History doesn’t necessarily repeat itself in the way we think it does. Actually, it is we who repeat history. The patterns we choose to ignore and fail to pay attention to creates the same chain of consequences we try to avoid.

Usually, when we see certain outcomes in our lives —we are keener on playing the blame game, wondering what went wrong, believing something external is responsible, or moving on altogether than we are on paying attention to the patterns that have led us to the same point consistently.

For example, a lady who seems to have bad luck in relationships is more likely to blame the guys she keeps meeting than she is to recognize her reason for consistently accepting those kinds of men.

We fail to recognize that the mirror we use to gaze at others gazes right back at us—showing us who we truly are and not just who others are. Our misguided desire for self-preservation often leads us to see the evil in others but ourselves.

The reality is, attentiveness is fundamental to alchemy. You must recognize yourself to create the gallant gold you want. You must recognize your experiences, biases, beliefs, and behaviors to integrate them into the process of transformation.

Don’t get it twisted, not all painful experiences can be transformed, and not all transformations are wholly positive. However, it doesn’t make you fractured or fragmented. It doesn’t seem to erase the darkness in your history but integrates it, allowing you to craft a narrative of resilience and meaning.

Not all scars disappear completely instead, the mark becomes a reminder of the courage to relive its content without being affected.

Carving Out Your Gold

Indeed, our history doesn’t define us but it does mark us. Hence, the nuanced journey of evolution begs that we integrate the elements of our history to carve out our finest gold.

We must recognize patterns of pain, fierce failures, and the calamities of our childhood. We must gaze upon them for insight and perspective into our present circumstances.

Just as a sculptor carefully carves away at a block of stone to reveal the hidden beauty within, we must engage in the process of introspection and self-reflection to uncover our inner gold. This requires courage, humility, and a willingness to confront the shadows of our past. Only then can we begin to transform our pain into resilience, our failures into lessons, and our childhood calamities into sources of strength. It is through this alchemical process of self-discovery and self-acceptance that we can truly carve out our finest gold and live authentically aligned with our true selves.

It is through this process we can purge and release GENIUS.

^{Remember, in a world where you can be anything, BE GENIUS!}

- Faith Ohio

^{To know more about me & my work: click here} 

Recommended Reading:

1. The Paradox Of Genius

2. The Play Of Potential