To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.
Socrates
The words "Know Thyself" (ΓΝΩΘΙ ΣΑΥΤΟΝ) were inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, a reminder that the answers people sought were within themselves.
If the Greeks needed that reminder in the 7th century BCE when the world was nowhere near as complex as it is today, how is one able to truly know oneself now?
In a world focused on youth culture, where we are constantly told to do this, try this, be better, skinnier, younger-looking, or happier, it can be confusing to know oneself. Luckily, the older we get, the closer we get to knowing ourselves. The thing is, it’s a moving target.
You are a process, not a product. There is no one right or final way to know yourself. No scientific equation or outcome that can be applied. Becoming and being yourself is an ongoing, lifelong process in which you continue to seek through questioning yourself, your awareness, your truths - to live the process of becoming you, or as Ranier Maria Rilke so beautifully says:
Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.
There are many changes we go through in the course of our lifetime, both because of our natural growth as individuals and because of external events, circumstances, people, and places that shape our lives. Like Play-Doh, we are molded and morphed into the individuals we are at any particular moment by both the hands of others and our own. As our lives change, we change. It’s a wonder that we have any semblance of self-knowledge whatsoever. There is no certainty to it, but we do get closer to a deeper understanding of who we are as we age. Think of aging as peeling an onion, removing the layers to get to the center, your heart and soul.
In March 2009, I wrote a blog post about finding my way, “I had forgotten how to listen to my small, still voice. I had lost touch with the part of me that made me who I am. I missed her.” Ah, that small, still voice. It’s always there, but we tend to forget to listen. “And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." 1 Kings 19:12. The point of God speaking in the ‘still small voice’ was to show Elijah that the work of God need not always be accompanied by dramatic revelation. In the Bible, the still small voice is God, the Holy Spirit. It is the divine in us, whether you call it God, Gaia, soul, spirit, Buddha, the Universe, or Earth mother; it will speak to you through words you feel more than you hear.
We are all acquainted with that small, still voice. It’s there from the very beginning. Some of us have learned to listen, some of us forget to listen, and some never notice it because they are seeking outward instead of inward. That still small voice can be confusing, too. What if your inward knowing conflicts with your outward desires? It can be frustrating to decipher between the two. How many times has the inner knowing been rejected for immediate pleasure?
Rilke wisely wrote, “Most people learn to know only a corner of their room.” I love this visual reference for knowing oneself. It reminds me of a past recurring dream in which I found a large empty room in my house that I never knew existed. I interpreted it to mean there was still much of myself to discover. Regularly listening to your inner voice can connect you to yourself and to your better self.
There are many ways to connect to and allow that small, still voice to guide and enrich your life: meditation, mindfulness, journaling or morning pages, solitude, walks in nature, and using your creative instincts and abilities. The practice of expanding your knowledge of yourself creates a sacred, dare I say divine, reality that gives your life meaning, value, and fulfillment and fulfills the natural drive to make sense of our lives and experiences.
I have learned that patience is the key when listening for the small, still voice. You can ask a question or work at trying to solve a problem, but you cannot rush the answer. It comes in its own time. That’s why you always have to be listening, or setting aside time to listen for it. If it’s going to come it will come on its own time. You are not privy to the timing, but many times the timing will make sense when the answer is delivered. This I know from experience.
Quotes of the Week
Put your ear close to your soul and listen hard.
Anne Sexton
There is something in every one of you that waits and listens for the sound of the genuine in yourself.
Howard Thurman
You do not even need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice,
it will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
Franz Kafka
Timely words, all so true. Sometimes I ask a question at night and receive clarity - or an "answer" in the morning. It's hard to believe if you haven't experienced and you also have to be careful who you tell!
You are a process, not a product. .... Oh so true. I love reading about Rilke. I have a book of poetry somewhere in the house. I must dig it out.