Self Empowerment, discovery of a “new taste”

First Taste shows the full expression of self empowerment, that is the discovery of a “new taste”, of something that we sense or somehow hope for but didn’t have the courage or trust to fully experiment.
Here, in this video, children are wonderful, they take every step with spontaneity, without prejudice or worries, just feeling: they present us with the sequence of reactions each of us, in our own life, have when faced with something new:

  • curiosity
  • wait
  • perception
  • disgust
  • disorientation
  • doubt
  • pleasure
  • excitement
  • discovery

Each of the steps is mirrored in these children’s faces. Each of the steps is identical to the ones you take when you experience something new. In a way, these steps are inevitable: you need to face them to discover YOURSELF.
We’ve all walked these steps. Whenever we accomplished something we felt powerful and “fulfilled”. At the same time, we all know very well the feeling of not having succeeded and of having told ourselves that that thing was not that important in the end…just like the famous fox did with the grapes.

Some possibilities might be less relevant to you and in those cases postponing would be painless. Some other possibilities, however, might be crucial and the fox and the grapes game might be suffocating in the long run. Opening ourselves to possibilities is a path to self empowerment that implies a transformation, not only on the inside (choosing a new job, deciding to get married or separated, applying for a position, offering to lead a team or a project…) but mainly on the inside (choosing to act with strength or lightness, to raise one’s voice or shut up, to reflect upon something or just do, to express one’s feelings or to control them).

It’s only when we can choose that we are truly free

Are we able of getting angry when we choose to or when it’s needed? Are we able to cry? To raise our voice? To wait in silence? To get on stage? To compliment someone who’s better than us? And to follow him/her faithfully? Are we able to relax? To trust? To convince and being convinced? To let others see our frailty? To win? And to lose? Every human expression has its own dignity and legitimacy.

Freedom and responsibility are directly connected to the number of options we feel available. Increasing one’s power, one’s self empowerment, means having more alternatives to choose from. On the contrary, having, seeing or building few alternatives “forces” us to go one way only: the choice thus becomes inescapable, independent from our will.

When we get stuck in doing something because we can sense the fear, we overrate disgust and inhibit discovery. Feedback can give us a boost: an outside provocation that triggers a new step on the inside and that challenges us to re-open an already closed door.

This scene from the movie Into the Wild makes the concept crystal clear in just a few frames. The young boy understands, provokes, supports and incites without ever taking the old man’s place, he makes him feel special and trusts the man can be self-reliant. So, if anybody ever helped you this way, perhaps calling you “lazybones” or offering you a garlic stuffed sandwich (as happened to the kids in First Taste).. find a way to thank him/her, he/she made you the most precious gift.

| Photo credit: Maria Josè Cinti