Holy MOLY, the depths of irony in this popular misquote!

First, consider the ego injected into this act of creative translation:

The ironically named Ernest presumes to mistranslate a statement, creating entirely new and mystifying terminology, because he's decided you can't grasp what Sigmund was getting at in plain English (German).

"Wo Es war, soll Ich werden."
"Where It was, there I shall be."

The irony deepens when you consider the content of the statement itself, which suggests empowerment through ownership work. This new terminology moves the power away from I, which is the literal opposite of the point.

Like, it's not you, it's your ego! Someone ought to help you with that. Look to the It (out there) or look to the Ego (somewhere in the psychological ether) -- anywhere but inside your actual Self.

Anywhere but the long hard road of self-reflection and personal responsibility.

I can see how this made sense at the time — it was an era of emerging modern convenience and mass marketing in America. Besides which, truth isn't so easy to digest.

But when it comes to taking ownership of one's life and experiences, convenience and easy digestion are not why you're here.

You're here to take responsibility for your life, and to reclaim your power from the ether. You're here to embody and integrate the lessons you've learned over a lifetime, and to move forward with love.

If you want to live your truest, fullest life, you must discover your depths and your edges, and you must take responsibility for your choices, beliefs, and actions.

Life's not happening TO you; YOU ARE ALIVE.

Own it.

❤️
- S