Who is the stubborn person? How can he be described? How does he live, how does he affect the world and how does he allow himself to be influenced by it? What does he like, what does he dislike, how does he think and where does he want to go? I have been asking myself these questions for a long time and I have to realize again and again that it is almost impossible to describe the stubborn person - because on the one hand words are inadequate and things change, and on the other hand his nature is so anti-static and constantly changing that any attempt to put him into words can only be a snapshot or must describe this constant state of being in motion. Nevertheless, I am certain that the stubborn person also has an unchangeable, essential core and that is why I want to try to portray him.
THE WILLWILL PERSON IS A PARADOXICAL CREATURE.
Of course, every person is a contradictory being, because in every life opposites collide, contradictory thoughts and feelings are present at the same time. The stubborn person is, however, intensely aware of these contradictions, he feels their presence and the shock when they collide. But he is no longer irritated by them. He has learned to nestle into the tension that arises. He is also no longer just concerned with enduring contradictions. He succeeds in loving enduring contradictions and using the energy that arises in such spaces. In this respect, he is a kind of in-between being that jumps back and forth between the poles of below and above, right and left, front and back. In open spaces that give room to breathe and in which no preconceived opinions and defined standards pigeonhole people. He enjoys being such an in-between being, because the spaces in between are filled with freedom. And freedom is a place full of possibilities that cry out for fulfillment. This does not deter the stubborn, quite the opposite:
"
Its shape can hardly be defined,
he negates this again.
OBSTACLE VIENNA
HE LOVES CHANGE.
He cannot bear the feeling of standing still, and this becomes unbearably loud in places where others cannot even hear it. He is always on the move. As an anti-static being, the stubborn person follows no form. As soon as his form can be defined, he negates it again. And then he slips into a new form, only to deconstruct it again. A never-ending task, but he cannot do anything else and he loves it that way. Is it exhausting? Yes. Is it fulfilling? For the stubborn person, definitely, because it corresponds to his innermost core. And that is fixed and strong, indestructible and unchangeable, despite all the desire for change, despite all the different forms he pours himself in and out of.
The stubborn person flows through life. But he does not flow with the current, he does not get lost in waves or river movements, but he flows at his own pace and in his own direction and in his own depth - and all these things can of course change at any moment. They can change because they do so of their own accord - or because the stubborn person wants it that way.
THE WILLWILL PERSON IS SIMULTANEOUSLY INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE WORLD.
He lives consciously by always observing himself and his actions in the world from a distance, checking and adjusting when he believes he has to do so - as if a part of him were detaching itself, sounding the alarm when his actions no longer seem right, no longer in line with what his stubbornness tells him - this compass that guides him through life. He is a skeptic and a doubter. He takes nothing for granted because that is not in keeping with his nature. But what is his nature?
THE PERSISTENT PERSON CANNOT DO ANYTHING ELSE. AND THAT'S A GOOD THING.
There is a saying: "Art does not come from being able to do something, but from having to do it." Stubbornness is inherent in the stubborn person. It is inherent in him, and it is so extensive and loud that he cannot help but express it, otherwise he will be suffocated by it. He only feels authentic when he lives it out, when he gives it the space it needs. That is why he loves freedom and expanding in space. He cannot feel inauthentic, because stubbornness cannot be denied or suppressed. It must be lived, because otherwise the body in which it is embedded will be in turmoil and the stubbornness will turn against him. The beautiful thing about being stubborn is that the stubborn person loves to use his stubbornness. Although that is not always easy. No, quite the opposite, it is usually not the path of least resistance. Most of the time it means repeatedly taking firm steps down untrodden paths to become your own path. Fortunately, he feels at home in the sphere of the unknown. That's why he doesn't really fit in anywhere, but at the same time he's at home everywhere - as long as he's not locked into rooms or categories.
THIS BELIEVES THE QUESTION: DOES EVERY PERSON HAVE A WILL OF THEIR OWN?
I think so. But for some people it is dormant, for others it is very small and quiet, so that it can be suppressed or hidden. It is one thing to have stubbornness. Recognizing it, manifesting it and implementing it day after day is another. That is what distinguishes the stubborn from the not-yet-or-not-enough stubborn, or from the person who simply does not want to be stubborn. It is important to note that stubbornness always manifests itself externally. And that is precisely what it does for the stubborn by taking new paths.
"
Of two evils I always choose the one
that I don't know yet.
MAE-WEST
"OF TWO EVILS, I ALWAYS CHOOSE THE ONE I DON'T KNOW," SAID ACTRESS MAE WEST.
Going down unknown paths is strenuous and involves a lot of work, but the stubborn person knows that this way of life contains the greatest and most rewarding insights. He is a doer, not just a talker. He strives for further development, for himself and therefore also for the world. His pulsating, outward-pushing inner self wants to influence the world and awaken the stubbornness that lies dormant in others. In this respect, he is both an egoist and an altruist. When he sets out into the unknown, he is simultaneously arrogant and humble. For he knows that many things simply happen and that he does not have everything under control. He sees himself as the creator of his world, but not as omnipotent, for he knows how to distinguish between things that he can change and those that he must accept with humility. In the rhythm of life, things cannot always go uphill.
THAT'S WHY THE WILLWILL PERSON ACTS RHYTHMICALLY.
Lethargy, phlegmaticness, stagnation, unconscious actions, opportunism - all these things stimulate the stubborn person and make him act. They make him unsteady, upset him, and he has to channel these energies outwards.
Does that mean that the stubborn person always acts with a goal in mind, always has a mission, feels compelled to act? That he is an unstable spirit, driven? Not necessarily. Because he also likes to give in to pleasure and loss of control. If it is a conscious surrender, then he does it with full conviction. Because he knows that something new can arise from the pause and loss. And creating something new, yes, that is what drives him. In that respect, he is a relaxed driven person who has to create and renew, but can also pause. He knows when it is time to be silent and when he has to be loud. He can judge whether slowness or speed is appropriate. He senses whether he has to retreat or shoot forward. Just as the tides alternate, he alternates between retreating into himself and going out into the world, between silence and screaming.
All of this sounds like he never makes mistakes, like he's perfect. But he's not perfect at all. After all, how can you develop without making mistakes?
THE WILLWILL PERSON LIVES OUT HIS INCOMPLETENESS TO THE FULLEST EXTENT.
He recognizes himself as an incomplete being who never stands still and can never be finished. In this sense, he can never arrive, but that does not stop him from setting goals. He strives for perfection, sees it as a requirement, although he knows that he will never achieve it. He matures through his experiences; his scars are monuments that are meant to warn him or show him whether the direction he is currently taking is still the right one. And he is always guided by his stubbornness. This sees the world as it is, but also as it could be.
"
If there is a sense of reality,
there must also be a sense of possibility.
ROBERT MUSIL
THE WRITER ROBERT MUSIL ONCE SAID: "IF THERE IS A SENSE OF REALITY, THERE MUST ALSO BE A SENSE OF POSSIBILITY."
The stubborn person sees possibilities. He knows that at any moment countless paths open up from which he can choose. He loves to break habits. Lethargy and unconscious indifference are anathema to him.
THAT'S WHY SOMETIMES THE WILLWILL HAVE TO DISTURB.
He challenges those around him and himself when he enters into an inner dialogue and negotiates things with himself. If something bothers him, he has to shake things up, point them out, create awareness. He tears others out of their lethargy, awakens them from the coma of unquestioned habits. He is a troublemaker when he thinks it is necessary. He is a troublemaker when he thinks it makes sense. He likes to crash full force into thought constructs that are perceived as true and correct, and in this way exposes them as false truths.
"
Be suspicious of anyone who thinks everything is fine, and
who thinks everything is bad, but even more so
who is indifferent to everything.
JOHANN CASPAR LAVATER
BUT STIFFNESS IS NOT THE SAME AS STARWITH.
The stubborn person is not against something just to be against it. He only shouts NO or YES when he thinks it is right. He does not run his head against the wall to run his head against the wall or to attract attention. He only does it when it represents a possible path for him - a direct, fast, perhaps brutal path, but one that leads to a place of insight. Often everything is too slow and too sluggish for him, which is why he likes to act quickly and sometimes perhaps a little rashly. But he learns from the head wounds that arise from running into walls. This is how he develops. He works in a structured, chaotic way and extends his impulsiveness into considered actions, which therefore have a lot of energy.
HOW THE WORLD AFFECTS HIM?
The stubborn person experiences the world through his senses. His stubbornness guides him in this - he determines what should be perceived and what should be ignored. He pays particular attention to what triggers strong sensory and/or emotional reactions in him, because these are his signposts. He then uses his intellect to check these reactions and decide how to proceed. In this respect, he combines intuition and intellect, which complement each other. He is always learning, acts in a forward-looking manner and in this sense does not think afterward, but rather ahead. He does not live in the past, but accepts its passing and only takes with him those things from the past that help him on his stubborn path. According to Søren Kierkegaard, he acts forward and understands backwards. He senses a lot and thereby anticipates things in the air, which he then manifests. In this way, he is often ahead of his time. But being a trendsetter is not his goal, because he lives in a sphere of space and timelessness.
The stubborn person is all of that and much more, but just as he himself knows about his Wabi-Sabi-like imperfections, I am aware that this text can only touch on him. Somewhere and at some point the words stop. Like here and now, for example.
Toni Woldrich
stubborn vienna
