I am learning to forgive my inner geek, and even value him as a

When Kenny Loggins said, “I am learning to forgive my inner geek, and even value him as a free man,” he was not merely speaking about humor or self-image — he was describing a sacred process of reconciliation between the self we hide and the self we are. Beneath his lighthearted words lies a profound spiritual truth: that to live freely, one must first make peace with one’s own authenticity. For the “inner geek” — the awkward, passionate, curious part of us that once longed to belong but never quite fit in — is nothing less than the soul’s original voice, long silenced by shame, expectation, and fear. Loggins’s words, then, are an anthem for self-acceptance and liberation: a declaration that forgiveness of the self is the first act of freedom.

The origin of this insight lies in the journey of a man who lived much of his life in the public eye — an artist of great success, yet one who often wrestled with image and identity. As the voice behind the anthems of an era, Loggins was known for his charisma and energy, yet within him, as within all of us, lived the quieter self — the thinker, the dreamer, the one who questioned his worth. In naming this “inner geek,” he was naming the parts of himself that society once mocked — the awkwardness, the curiosity, the sensitivity — all the traits that are, in truth, the roots of genius. His declaration is a triumph not of pride, but of wholeness: the moment a man ceases to wage war against himself and instead welcomes every part of his being as holy.

In the style of the ancients, this act of inner forgiveness would have been seen as a kind of initiation — a rite of passage into wisdom. For the ancients taught that man’s greatest battle is not against the world, but against his own divided heart. The philosopher Epictetus said, “No man is free who is not master of himself.” But mastery, as Loggins reveals, does not mean domination — it means reconciliation. It means embracing the child who was once ridiculed, the student who was once unsure, the soul who once felt small. The one who forgives his inner outcast becomes whole, and in that wholeness finds true freedom — not the freedom to become someone else, but the freedom to be oneself entirely.

Consider the story of Albert Einstein, that archetype of the “inner geek.” As a child, he was thought slow, odd, a misfit. Teachers despaired of him, peers mocked him. Yet within that same awkwardness lay the spark of wonder that would one day illuminate the cosmos. Einstein, like Loggins, learned to forgive the parts of himself that did not conform — to value the very qualities that made him different. His mind, once seen as a weakness, became his greatest gift. The lesson, ancient and eternal, is this: that the world often rejects what it most needs, and we often reject within ourselves the very light that was meant to guide us. To reclaim it is the essence of freedom.

There is also a deep emotional and psychological wisdom in Loggins’s words. Many live their lives as prisoners of an image — crafting masks to win approval, suppressing the parts of themselves that do not “fit.” But the cost of this suppression is immense. The unloved self becomes the unseen self, and the unseen self becomes a shadow — a source of quiet suffering. Forgiveness, in this sense, is not indulgence but healing. To “forgive your inner geek” is to lift the weight of ridicule, to stop punishing yourself for being different, and to realize that the truest measure of beauty is authenticity. For only when we stop hiding can we begin to create, to love, to live freely.

Loggins’s phrase, “value him as a free man,” is the culmination of this journey. It is not enough to tolerate our inner self — we must celebrate him. Freedom does not come from rejecting the past, but from integrating it. The “free man” within us is the one who no longer needs to prove, to hide, or to conform. He walks with quiet confidence, aware that his uniqueness is his strength. The ancients called this eudaimonia — the flourishing of the soul that comes when a person lives in harmony with their inner nature. To value one’s inner geek, then, is to honor the very source of creativity, wisdom, and joy.

The lesson, therefore, is clear and timeless: accept every part of who you are. The awkward, the uncertain, the passionate — these are not flaws to be erased but colors to be embraced. Forgive the self that stumbled, the self that feared, the self that was mocked. Learn to see them not as burdens, but as teachers. For in forgiving your past, you reclaim your future; in loving your imperfections, you discover your strength. As Loggins reminds us, freedom begins within — and the truest act of courage is not to conquer the world, but to make peace with the soul that dwells within you.

So remember this, as if it were written upon the scrolls of time: there is no freedom without self-acceptance, and no wisdom without forgiveness. To honor your inner geek — your inner truth — is to stand tall in your own light, unashamed and unafraid. For the one who has reconciled with himself is no longer bound by the judgments of the world. He is, at last, what he was always meant to be — a free man.