“We seldom realize, for example that our most private thoughts and emotions are not actually our own. For we think in terms of languages and images which we did not invent, but which were given to us by our society.”
― Alan Wilson Watts
How often have you heard someone say that they were ‘speaking their own truth’ or ‘expressing their reality’? Are our thoughts truly our own or are they a combination of our religious, cultural and societal upbringings? We often feel we have rejected our past in terms of our own free thought. I know for many years I felt that only to realize then that most of what I thought were my own ideas were indeed reactions to my past. Either way I looked at it it felt like I was either fighting the tide or embracing it. It was only when I realized this that I was able to start weighing information taking my own upbringing as a factor in how I react to things I’ve learned. It will always have an influence. We are never free of our pasts and that is probably a good thing but understanding that patina has led to a greater understanding.
Blessings, G
Moon Warrior by G A Rosenberg 
Quite well-expressed! I have had this sentiment for decades but have never said or written it as well as you have here.
Thank you. This has been something that has been on my mind quite a bit as well.