4 November 2019

from instagram:

“You always have to realize that you’re constantly… in the state of becoming, you know?” – Bob Dylan

I had posted this on my instagram account back in early November because it was something that stuck in my mind as a particularly profound and concise way of stating a concept that I’ve been working on for the past few years. I call it “a process,” because it’s an ongoing thing that is a part of life. With the hashtags I had added to the post, a non-follower found the it and left the below comment, which gave me a slight pause:

susanne.strub
Yes, of course – but it’s not always easy, especially when you’re just “normally” gifted – not everybody is a Bob Dylan…

I thought for a long while before replying, because I didn’t want to sound condescending or rude. Finally, I came up with this:

annamauryawhynot
@susanne.strub in my mind, being in a state of becoming is not meant to be easy for anyone, including Dylan who is more than likely talking about himself more than others. and I think he knows with his statement that it’s an ongoing process of change and reinvention, not a stopping point. it’s why he says “you always have to realize” and that you are “constantly in a state of becoming” because if you don’t realize it or you forget it then you risk becoming stagnant or not learning or never changing. if it was easy, the meaning of becoming would be lost – not just for the normal people but for all people. and remember that yes, not everybody is a Bob Dylan, but also: not everybody is a you. your state of becoming will be different from mine, from Dylan’s, from everyone else. what it means…well, that’s up to you. peace and love, anna

To wit, Dylan has also said the following, riffing on G.B. Shaw if I remember correctly:

“Life isn’t about finding yourself or finding anything. Life is about creating yourself and creating things.” 

To me, as a searcher, these quotes distill everything I’ve been trying to learn about myself. It’s about creating and becoming. We never stop becoming – we should never stop creating.