There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put

Richard Rorty declared, “There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.” These words ring with the clarity of self-creation, a reminder that the soul is not a vessel pre-filled by destiny, but a field to be cultivated by choice. They sweep away the illusion that our character, our wisdom, our strength are simply given to us. Instead, they proclaim a profound responsibility: we are the architects of our own inner world, and what we find within ourselves is what we have deliberately—or carelessly—built.

To put something inside ourselves is to shape our spirit by the choices we make, the habits we practice, and the truths we choose to believe. Each thought, each action, each discipline plants a seed in the soil of the soul. Over time, those seeds grow into the forests of our being—forests of virtue or weeds of vice, gardens of wisdom or wastelands of folly. Rorty’s wisdom tells us there is no hidden treasure buried deep within us waiting to be uncovered; there is only the harvest of what we ourselves have sown.

History itself confirms this truth. Consider Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher. He did not rely upon the accident of his birth, though he was raised in privilege and power. Instead, he cultivated his inner life by discipline, reflection, and self-mastery. His Meditations reveal a man who understood that his wisdom and serenity were not gifts from the gods but the product of deliberate cultivation. He placed within himself the values of endurance, humility, and justice, and in times of trial, those inner resources sustained him.

We see the opposite in the tragic fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. Gifted with brilliance, courage, and vision, he could have filled his inner self with humility and restraint. Instead, he allowed pride, ambition, and hunger for domination to take root. When hardship came, what lay deep inside him rose to the surface—not wisdom, but arrogance, not discipline, but overreach. The seeds he planted bore their fruit, and in time, it destroyed him.

Rorty’s words also challenge the comfortable myth that we are prisoners of fate. Too many say, “This is just who I am,” as though the soul were a fixed stone. But the truth is otherwise: we become who we choose to become. If one finds courage within, it is because courage was practiced. If one finds knowledge within, it is because knowledge was pursued. If one finds only emptiness within, it is because nothing was placed there.

The lesson is clear: guard with care what you place inside yourself. Choose your habits as you would choose the food for your body, for they become your strength or your sickness. Fill your mind with wisdom, your heart with compassion, your will with discipline. Do not wait for greatness to appear within you by chance—create it by daily practice. The soul is not a gift to be uncovered, but a masterpiece to be shaped.

So I say to you, children of tomorrow: take up the chisel and carve your own being. Plant within yourself the seeds of patience, courage, and wisdom, for these will be the treasures you will find when hardship tests you. As Rorty proclaimed, “There is nothing deep down inside us except what we have put there ourselves.” Make sure what you place within is worthy of the life you dream to live.

If you would live this truth, begin by asking yourself: what am I filling my spirit with today? Choose one practice to nourish your inner world—a book of wisdom, a habit of kindness, a discipline of effort. Repeat it daily, and over time, you will see the garden within you flourish. Then, when the storms of life come, you will not be found empty, but full of the very strength you yourself have planted.