Some (almost) Philosophical Thoughts

(I realized that my current book, movie, and quote are pretty much the same as my last post, so I'm not even going to bother re-posting those. :P)

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Have you ever considered the notion that you don't know yourself very well?

It's an interesting thought. Your initial reaction might be that you know yourself better than any other person in the world. It must be so, you may declare, because you are the only person who knows your innermost thoughts and feelings and you are the only one who knows what you are going to do next. Most of the time, at least. You will perhaps acknowledge that God knows all these things as well (better than you do, in fact) but speaking in terms of mortals, you're pretty much the best source of information on yourself.

I contend that this is not true, strictly speaking. In fact, in my own personal experience, I've discovered that my family and close friends often know me better than I know myself.

But more on that later. For now, let's consider the question of knowing yourself. I believe that it is a life-long process. There are few -- if any -- natural wonders of the world more spectacular than the human being, and humans have spent all their time since the beginning of their existence in delving deeper into themselves, whether they know it or not.

Let me get one thing straight here. I'm not talking about Buddhism or Hinduism or yoga or some other Eastern-type religion or practice that might make you fidget in your seat with all its talk of being one with yourself and the earth. I'm not asking you to go outside and lie down with the flowers and close your eyes and try to bring out your inner spirit, and in the meanwhile attempt to ignore all the creepy-crawly bugs that decide to use you for a playground. (Let me add, however, that I myself enjoy yoga and see nothing wrong with meditation -- just so long as you are meditating on truth and the one true God. I also have absolutely nothing against Eastern religions [in fact, I am somewhat fascinated by them, and I appreciate many of their qualities], so please don't label me as a racist. I just know that there are many people in the world who are prejudiced against another group of people, and that group of people are prejudiced against another group of people, and I wish we would all learn to accept and listen to each other, because even the most seemingly-misled people have some truth to offer.)

So. Where was I? Oh yes, I was talking about humans diving deeper into themselves in order to find out more about themselves. Well, this is nothing new or foreign. The ancient Greeks, the basis of our modern civilization and culture, had a common maxim among them. You may have heard it before:

Know thyself.

Many of the famous Greek philosophers used this admonition as the inspiration for some of their dialogues. Socrates, in particular, comes to mind (but that's just because he's pretty much the only Greek philosopher I know very well, and whose work I've read). So what meaning does this have for us today?

It may be a tempting thought to believe that we 21st century folk are a completely defiled culture, devoid of any logic and reason and art. It may be tempting to think that our generation could care less about morality or philosophy or truth. I used to think this way myself. While it may be true that we are a lamentably degraded culture, it is good to remember that there are still many people who wish for a higher lifestyle, and who strive for a more enlightened mind -- like you and me. (Thank God for my upbringing that made me who I am now!) It is also somewhat comforting to remember that sin has been in the world since almost the very beginning, and there has never been a culture as pure and undefiled as we would like it to be. (Take the Middle Ages, for example. They were in pretty bad shape, and the people of that time were rather corrupt. I think that's why they needed chivalry and the knighthood and all those noble morals and guidelines, because they needed to balance out the evil. I don't really know, but that's my impression.) But most importantly, we should remember that the search for truth is timeless and universal and we will never know enough about the world and ourselves to be satisfied. Humans are very curious creatures. Have you ever noticed that we ask a lot of questions?

This is a very long post, so I think I will make this a part one and write a part two later. But for now, in regards to the meaning of Know thyself...I think part of the "knowing" lies in the "being".

Pax,

Lady Clare