To Thine Own Self Be True




This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man Shakespeare




O ye that art the spawn of the Age of Aquarius, who taketh the admonition of the bard into your philosophy or hangeth it upon your hallowed wall, or tatooeth it upon your bodkin, know now that the bard hath made a fool of you.

Let us consider the words: to thine own self be true, which thou hath taken to signify a mandate to keep your beliefs intact no matter what blatant and unequivocal evidence presenteth itself, or perchance as an admonition to personal integration of the harmonies of the universe, or the balancing of thy medians, or stimulation of thy chakras

When, if thou, who art the worst judge of thine own self, doest not know that thou hast changed like a chameleon to fit the time and circumstance, and that thou hast, if thou not be a fool, grown unto each of thy seven ages a different, if not a wiser man, doest begin to wonder which of the many selves one is being true to and wherefore thous’t may begin to perceive the light.

Now shalt we consider the metaphor, Then it must follow as the night the day and declare that while it suggests inevitability, ‘tis besides that, a boring and blatant cliché, the work of an atom-sized imagination..

Then considerest thou the soulful statement, Thou canst not then be false to any man (and, Aquarian that thou must needs be due to thy years of birth know’st in your heart to include the fairer sex) and, as thou thinkest upon this, thou wondrest if such a son of man couldest in this dark world exist, beginneth to have some doubt,

Then we may perchance, divine the ironic intent of the divine bard, and know wherefore he putteth such unseemly, but wise-sounding words in the mouth of the most vile of liars, and the most bombastic and silliest of fools.

Joan Thate 2015

I've known Joey since we were 13. My family moved to Florida from South Carolina during my Eighth grade year. I picked up skateboarding as a lifestyle pretty quickly. There were kids in my neighborhood (which was pretty far out 40) who inducted me. I met Joey while out skating with some mutual friends. The first day I met him, I spent the night at his house. So we could wake up early, which for me was never before 10am, and go skateboarding all the next day. I remember worrying to myself that I was going to forget his name. I did forget his name.

I met Joan that night as you may have assumed. I feel like I remember it perfectly but I'm sure I've gotten it wrong. Joan was watching the Pelican Brief when we got in. It was a little after dark, which she was never a fan of.

So I show up in this woman's home who has never met me and I'm with her son who I've known for probably three or four hours at this point and she welcomes me and makes us dinner. And it felt like I may as well have known them both my whole life.

I lived in Florida for a few short years, and spent a lot of time in Joan's home. Joan was always engaged with us as angsty teens, we would have conversations with her about current events, our plans for the future, and our problems and she was really there to offer judgment-free reflection with only kindness in mind.

I knew Joan as a teacher, a mother and mentor to one of my best friends in life, and as an individual with the capacity to give themselves to others unendingly.

Joan's life was an example of who you can be if you are motivated by love and personal connection. Our lives were all enriched in knowing Joan, and we keep her memory with us in practicing kindness, patience, and understanding.

"It’s already been said
It’s already been sung
It’s already been painted
and already hung
It’s already been carved from stone
It’s already been molded of clay
It’s already been wrenched into three acts
and already performed as a play
But, while under our unexceptional sun
There is, we’re pretty sure, nothing new
It cannot be your whole truth
until it wriggles live out of you."

Joan Bergstrom 2010