Various Levels of Transcendence/Self-Actualization

Henry Ford falls short of self-actualization. Don't use him as an example. Truly self-actualized people are more like another Henry, one Henry David Thoreau. Most who transcend are apolitical and independent-minded, like that Henry. They are very willing to face hard, unrelenting truths, but they tend to be extremely soft-spoken. If you press them a bit, they may politely discuss their wide-open, carefully formulated views of the difficult truths, but if you get bored, stop listening, and start talking over them, they'll stop explaining.

Then they will do what you refuse to do: They will listen to you courteously and smile and nod and wait for you to finish. They won't respond to any harsh religious or political dogma you care to spout at them. They have no interest in dogma. If you likewise show no interest for their thoughts, they will just want you to be finished so they can get back to being the people they are.

Some say Lincoln was self-actualized. I say he had his moments. He might have transcended privately, but publicly, he tried every way possible to deal with the Civil War on a "basic" level, putting off the higher principles as long as he could. One of his transcendental moments was when he delivered the Gettysburg Address. Another was when he signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

Most self-actualized people are not at all famous. Our culture overlooks them. We value people who demonstrate mastery over the "basics" of life ("cash-first"). People who rise beyond the "basics" to deal with higher realities are thought to be strange, and most often, they are ignored, as Thoreau was ignored until long after he died. Then came a broad rediscovery of his legacy, at which time people began to understand his brilliance.

Times have changed. Now, those who transcend "basic" culture can receive the credit they deserve in their lifetimes, not that they always do. But at least, even we, who value "cash first," have begun to understand the true nature of the transcended individual. We can even sense which ones are more self-actualized than others.

Who are they? More tomorrow.