Dear young man, a sequitur into your voyage of manhood revolves around the symbolic illumination of the "spotlight." Now, I further reference this term with its dual meaning: the literal stage light that illuminates a performer, and the metaphorical spotlight of life that brings our potential into sharp relief. You, too, like Bilbo Baggins venturing from his cozy hobbit hole (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, 1937), must step into your heroic spotlight.
One might wonder why I choose the spotlight to represent this journey into the fullness of your potential. Well, it is like the Steller Sea Lion's choice to bask on the rocky outcrop at high noon, seeking the sun's radiating warmth. He does not hide in the chill of the deep sea away from the spotlight of the sun. Invisible to the world, he would merely exist, not thrive. Similarly, we must strive for the spotlight to fulfill our destiny and to nourish our spirits.
Consider the wisdom of Rene Descartes, mathematician, and philosopher extraordinaire, who posited: "Cogito, ergo sum" (I think, therefore I am). His words were not penned beneath a cloak of invisibility, no! They were written in the spotlight of his studies because he courageously dared to question and explore the nature of existence.
Or how about Plutarch, the great Greek biographer, who declared: "The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled." We don't feed a fire by hiding it in a darkened room, do we? No, it demands free air, fuel, and the piercing spotlight of our attention to grow, to evolve and reveal its magnificence.
But remember, the spotlight is more than just exposure to the world. No, it is an embrace of our vulnerabilities, and thus, the embodiment of courage. The clarity that the spotlight brings can be terrifying, but fear not! For, as psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung stated, "who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." By stepping into the spotlight, you make a pact to examine and grow your inner self, to awaken to your truth.
In this brave new spotlight of existence, you are akin to Frodo of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy (1954-1955). Burdened with a heavy charge, Frodo is thrust into the spotlight, his every action weighed and measured. Yet, through this intense scrutiny, he grows to embody the hero's spirit, overcomes unimaginable trials, and ultimately becomes the person he was always destined to be.
You, dear young man, must embrace and step into your own spotlight and illuminate your true self to the world. Your journey from boyhood to manhood is a heroic narrative. Look to the stage, demand the light, and reveal your true form. The world waits in anticipation; the story of your becoming is but a spotlight away.
Therefore, ascend the rocky outcrop, bask in the sunlight like the Steller Sea lion, and heed the words of mathematician Pierre Teilhard de Chardin: "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Unfurl your wings, embrace the certainty and the uncertainty of your becoming, and step into the spotlight of your destiny. Carpe Diem!
