Know Thyself

11 Sep Know Thyself

Socrates was credited with saying, “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” In my experience, the best way to do this is through meditation. There are many different approaches, but the importance is in creating the intention and following through with the doing and ‘be-ing.’ Growing up, we often get limits placed upon us by parents, teachers, religious leaders, and the government. The list is endless. We have a responsibility to ourselves to make every effort to learn our own capabilities and to nurture our own desires for growth.

When we face questions about our own growth, such as which relationship matters to us, what college to attend, what career to pursue, even what diet is best for us, we have to pay attention to what our inner voice is saying. As kids, we usually get some sense of our physical limitations fairly quickly. Parents try to be protective, but most kids like to find out for themselves things like:
• Riding a bike downhill just to see how fast you can go can have its own consequences.
• Jumping out of a swing to feel what it’s like to fly can be somewhat painful if you land the wrong way.
• Skateboarding takes practice, but first you have to learn how to fall correctly.
• Homemade zip-lines can be fun, but only if the rope doesn’t break.

The real problem is that we are never really taught to know ourselves in any meaningful way. What we do get taught is that you have to look outside of yourself for your answers. It’s always about the right school, the right teachers, the right religion, the right mentor, the right training program, etc. These are important, but I believe you must first have a sense of who you are to find your own path.

You may not have gotten any encouragement to know and understand who you are and what your particular ‘gift’ is to the world. This is something you have to bring for yourself. We all have within us a unique talent that is our gift to the world. The best gift you can give yourself is to discover yourself!

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