Emerson emphasized the role and cultivation of the individual, whom he believed should avoid conformity and false consistency (i.e., consistency with our past actions and beliefs if they no longer fit the needs or desires of the present), and instead pursue his/her own instincts and ideas, to be self-reliant, even at the cost of being misunderstood by society. Within this context Emerson argued that nature is the fundamental source, context, and relationship for understanding our lives, based on the correspondence between the human mind/soul (the inner world) and external nature/oversoul/Reason/God (the outer world).