Reflectorial: On pride
There is an amazing power that comes from confidence. Pig-Pen understood that when he said that the dirt on him could likely be from ancient times trod on by heroes and legends like by Solomon or Nebuchadnezzar or Genghis Khan, despite the Peanuts always getting on his case about the dust cloud following him.
Even if you are a “mess” according to others, if you are confident in yourself, you will make changes. Pride turns heads. And not only does it gets things done, but it brings about totally new things.
The main connotation of the word pride today is in relation to the Pride movement by the LGBTQ community.
But we gotta say, there is a really nasty side to pride.
It can really bring out the worst in people. But, most of the time, it is coming from a really bad place to begin with – not out of a place of confidence, self-celebration, being proud and striving to be better. Instead, it comes from thinking that we are better than others and that mistakes around us are not our own and not our problem.
The difference between these two kinds of pride comes down to what you think of others. You can be proud of your own achievements and collectively proud of what you and others have done together. But if you are prideful in the sense that you feel better than everyone else, you’re not doing the confidence thing right.
It doesn’t matter towards who. Maybe ask yourself what kind of proud you are being. You might even be the one required to take that step down, not say that thing you really want to say (even if you were encouraged to say from your friend group) and not think/feel the way you do about someone.
It all circles back to how you interact with others.
Don’t let this discourage you from confidence. Maybe you’re thinking that pride is always a bad thing and you aren’t taking pride in what you are doing. Are you worried that others will accuse you of being show-off or a know-it-all? Don’t be.
Boast, parade and exhibit. You might even be surprised by people. Heck, Charlie Brown often remarked that he was impressed by Pig-Pen’s dust cloud even in the middle of a snowstorm.
— The Reflector Staff
