“Individuality is the only real life. It is breathing the ozone of mental, moral, spiritual freedom. Nature made the countless thousands of flowers, trees, birds and animals without permitting two to be precisely alike. She stamped them with—individuality. She did it in a greater way for man. Some people seem to spend most of their time—trying to soak off the stamp. They follow in the footsteps of the crowd, guided by their advice. They wear a uniform of opinion; suffer in the strait-jacket of silly convention, seek ever to keep in step with the line, and march in solid sameness along the comfortably paved road of other people’s thinking,—not their own.” ~ William George Jordan
True individuality is not defined by rebellion, neither does it coalesce around acquiescence. It is the perfect expression of your true nature, the noble and dignified inner you. True authority, as opposed to that which comes with a man-made title or degree, is a robe that you wear when you are being yourself.
Authority is a radiant quality that amplifies aspects of your true nature out into the world you center. It is generated on the inside and as such is an force that moves outward, mostly silently and invisibly, but loud as a trumpet or a lion’s roar when necessary.
Moving from a state where you do not know yourself and feel powerless is a simple, albeit not always easy, process. To begin with, you must know what true individuality means. William George Jordan offered a number of excellent starting points worth considering along the way:
“Individuality means stimulating all the flowers of our best nature and banishing one by one the weeds of our lower self. It means kingship over self and kinship with all humanity. It means self-knowledge, self-confidence, self-reliance, self-poise, self-control, self-conquest. It is the fullest expression of our highest self, as the most perfect rose most truly represents the bush from which it blossoms.”
You are also wise to meditate briefly on what individuality isn’t. Reading through this brief passage from Mr. Jordan ought to be sufficient:
“Eccentricity is not individuality—it is a warped, unnatural distortion, like a reflection from a concave or convex mirror. Hypocrisy is not individuality—a mask is never a face and no matter how close it be held to the skin it never becomes a real face. Conventionality is not individuality—it is the molding of all that is vital and original in us to conform to an average type. Affectation is not individuality—it is only pretentious display of qualities one has not in stock. Individuality permeates every thought, word and act of ours as a half grain of aniline will tinge a hogshead of water so that the microscope will detect the colouring matter in every drop. Individuality crowns every expression of itself, in every day of living, with the—crown of its own kingship.“
Gregory Hake 
The mask is never the face, I love that! Thanks for such wonderful considerations. This blog will pay off for many generations.
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Loving this series. Each day, I have enjoyed the opportunity of seeing things differently through what I have learned on your blog. Thank you so much for these points to ponder.
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You’re welcome and I am delighted to hear that you’re seeing your world in a new way!
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The subject of individuality is fraught with tension, opinion, imbalance and irony. Our country, for instance, is known for its advocacy of individualism while also being stamped with a reputation for some of the most naiive and foolish conformism to be found anywhere. The words of the post today skilfully strip away the conundrums and illusion that have surrounded this vital matter. Worthy of some depth of meditation!
With genuine individuality comes the beauty and freshness of dynamic diversity. True individuals blend, complement and enhance one another. They have no need to protect or to compete for their own value. If there is comparison, it brings not envy or disappointment but rather a fond increase of appreciation for the whole from which we individually spring and for each of the remarkable parts of that whole.
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It is important to recognize that kingship over self allows for kinship with all humanity ( well said, Mr Jordan!). Often individuality is seen in the terms of the “rugged individual ” who seldom finds or expects a place of accord with others. Kinship with others is an outlook that brings with it empathy, generosity, and understanding. Thanks for this remarkable series of posts!
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Thank you Gregg! We love this most recent series of posts! – D & M
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Amazing – thanks!!!!
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Sure enough, this matter of being a true individual in every sense of the word takes some work. There are alot of bluffs as Mr. Jordan precisely noted, for much of what is considered today as individuality is an imperfect substitute as well as a distraction from the discipline it takes to nourish the unique seed of individuality within.
The cosmology that you both offer here has its underpinnings in natural law and order and all that is true and real in the world works within these laws and are an extension of them if we are to accept them. Denying or ignoring these laws puts one in alternate universe where things don’t quite make sense as they could – here is one of the problems the realm of science has struggled with over the centuries. Can natural design and evolution co-exist? I think they can, and there’s a good bit of evidence to show for it.
Both cosmologies taken to the extreme I feel further falls short to produce the brand of individuality you present above. We simply don’t quite get the truly unique gem of individual self-expression available to each human being. In humans, individuality is not biology I gather; it includes it no doubt, but it has its origin in the higher natures of man. Perhaps the beauty we see in flowers come from their higher nature, imprinting and causing DNA and genetic material to reflect that, and that’s different from saying that it starts there. Why not?
When I think about it, the beauty in people comes when a beautiful quality is expressed. You wouldn’t say that person is beautiful when they are hurting someone right? Only when they are smiling or showing some benevolent quality do we say they are beautiful even though genetically they are the same person.
Anyhow, not to ramble, what I gather from all this is that it is our duty to magnify our virtues and develop them, while de-emphasizing and giving no weight to any tendency within us that opposes our nobility. Do we believe that we come from noble origins? Does our worldview allow for such a fundamental premise? I do and mine does!
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It is excruciating to see some of the results of trying to conjure a crown of individuality. It is the trap of opposites that creates some of unsightly behavior. If this is wrong the opposite must be right, never realizing there is the genuine that can be discovered. Another trap is rebelling against what ever is considered the norm, this also invites bizarre and awakard behavior. This crown is something that can’t be counterfeited, the declaration of it comes from being comfortable in our own skin, interacting with others in a manner that brings expansion to situations and to other people. The only way to attain this is to do the work to discover our higher self. What is it that goes on in our thoughts and feelings. It seems it is the most essential work we can do or we risk going through our lives an imitation.
Thanks for your work on this subject.
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These are some great specifics on what individuality is and isn’t. It is nice that Jordan specifies the things that aren’t individuality, especially with the examples that he used. There is a certain feeling to each person’s individuality, and it is not a thing where you can “fake it till you make it”. Just like the passage said, you have to systematically nix the things that are not of your best and brightest, and nurture the things that are. It won’t always be comfortable. It won’t always be easy. It takes work to do it, but once you have achieved true individuality, you will have something priceless that no one can take away from you.
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