I recently finished East of Eden by Steinbeck. What I’ve thought most about is behaviors I’ve inherited from my family, and the choice I have in regards to being free or living with that inheritance.
For example my parents, despite my love for them, can be emotionally reactive in their own respective ways. I for a long time would be angry or upset by it, because their reactivity was constant and to any stimuli. After reading East of Eden I had the observation and realization that me being mad by their reactivity is the same behavior regardless of the trigger being different. I’m constantly reacting to their reactions, at that point it’s the same no matter how hard I tried to justify it.
The freedom in choice is either recognizing that and then making peace out of the chaos that is a constant loop of reactivity, or I can choose to break free from that. The emotions may likely always be there but lately I’ve realized I’m free to walk away and be unbothered and allow them to have their reaction.
This may seem obscure from reading this novel but the ideas of inheritance and not allowing a predisposition be predeterminate really resonated with me.
For example my parents, despite my love for them, can be emotionally reactive in their own respective ways. I for a long time would be angry or upset by it, because their reactivity was constant and to any stimuli. After reading East of Eden I had the observation and realization that me being mad by their reactivity is the same behavior regardless of the trigger being different. I’m constantly reacting to their reactions, at that point it’s the same no matter how hard I tried to justify it.
The freedom in choice is either recognizing that and then making peace out of the chaos that is a constant loop of reactivity, or I can choose to break free from that. The emotions may likely always be there but lately I’ve realized I’m free to walk away and be unbothered and allow them to have their reaction.
This may seem obscure from reading this novel but the ideas of inheritance and not allowing a predisposition be predeterminate really resonated with me.
Thanks for your time!
-AA