“Know thyself” sounds like good advice until you try it—and end up down a rabbit hole, or in a hall of mirrors.
I mean, how many selves are there, and who is the one that’s trying to know the other one or the many? Are you (the observer) and yourself (the observed) the same? See what I mean?
Never-never land. Goodbye. Good luck. See you on the other side. Maybe.
According to legend, a certain Greek named Chilon visited the oracle at Delphi in or around the eighth century BCE and asked the priestess Pythia what was the most important thing to know. She replied, “Know thyself.” (Greek: gnothi sauton) That maxim launched a thousand debates and was engraved on Apollo’s temple.
KNOW THYSELF
I took that advice once. I reorganized the random thoughts buzzing in my head, adopted an ethereal vocabulary, and thought: “Now I really know myself.” Turns out, that was a joke.
I was a philosophy major. I once heard an hourlong lecture on that maxim. Originally it was taken to mean “Know your limitations” or “Know your place in society” or “Know you are mortal.” After that lecture I came to know myself as not cut out for that level of discourse. But I hung in.
During the Renaissance, the maxim was taken to mean “Know your body—what it is, how it works.” During the Reformation, it was taken to mean “Know yourself in order to know God.” As John Calvin put it: The knowledge of self and the knowledge of God are so inseparable as to be one and the same.
(Calvin said many less charming things. But let’s not go there.)
During the 20th century, the maxim was taken to mean “Explore, respect, and repair your inner self—buy books, attend workshops, get a psychoanalyst.” To know yourself today could cost an arm and a leg.
I’m a skeptic. I don’t believe in the inner self. I believe in taking care of the body that we can see instead of the inner self that we can’t. Somehow body-care is also soul-care because body and soul are so inseparable as to be one.
“Know yourself” is good advice. But here’s better advice: Know your neighbor or anyone else other than yourself, and you will know more about yourself than you would knowing yourself alone.
I didn’t make that up. I heard that somewhere.
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See Paula’s photo on the home page. Posted April 21, 2024.
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Well, the good news is as you say–there are too many of us to ever come to know all of us, and being in service to others is often personally profoundly enlightening. On the other hand, if one is, oh for example, my soon to be ex-son-in-law, who looks a bit like a Greek God but acts like a spawn from the underworld, “Know Thyself” may ring a bit differently. When our daughter compassionately suggested that he seek couples therapy with her to save the marriage because he discarded their most important marital vow over and over and, as he knew, his family was dysfunctional in the extreme, he replied, “I can just Google and read all I need to know.” Not only is he a deeply wounded man, but in that remark, he broke (time & again) that mutual vow: to journey together toward unknown horizons, literally and psychologically. He is an emotional abuser. I am ever grateful that my daughter “knows herself” well enough to save that Self that was becoming less visible by the day. She is a different woman today as she moves through what has become an ugly process, maintaining her courage, strength, and dignity.
And… I hear you fully, as well!
I used to bid farewell and good luck to my departing high school seniors by invoking Shakespeare, “To thine own self, be true.” I would then follow this line up exhorting them to take time to get to know themselves first. Of course, I was already well aware that getting to know one’s self involved a life long process. They would learn soon enough. I know, some folks appear to cease before they ever really begin. Too bad! Others reach a point where they think they know it all. This malady affects many teenagers and too often too many of us carry that mistaken notion into adulthood and never appear to shed the weight. Others become discouraged and quit because getting to know yourself is too hard and requires too much blood, sweat, and tears. There’s never an end to the process. So what’s the point? I think it’s to go out reaching. The more I know the more I realize there is to know. For instance, why am I writing this before I have a cup of coffee? A friend and I once sat down in a diner for breakfast and when the waitress came over for our order he announced in a matter of fact tone, “I’ll start with a coff ‘a’ cuppy.” Her pen stopped before she wrote that item down. Then my friend caught himself. “I can’t believe I said that,” he chuckled. “It’s all the drain bramage as a result of your misspent youth,” I commented, once my own laughter subsided enough to speak. That’s the way it goes. Just when you think you’ve arrived, you suddenly realize that you haven’t. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Somebody else said that. “Life’s the perfect thing to pass the time away.” Mason Williams, TV comedy writer, singer, and musician uttered that one.
I do believe in an inner and outer self and that they are definitely connected. They affect one another every day. How to proceed without becoming a philosopher who contemplates his navel or a drama queen of extremes or an actor who analyzes each role, or a writer who becomes trapped in rewrites, or theologian who overanalyzes and explains miracles away, or a scientist who feels repelled by figurative descriptions, or an accountant who checks balances? I like Randy Pausch’s idea, from his Last Lecture. ““The key question to keep asking is, Are you spending your time on the right things? Because time is all you have. ”
So good to know your neighbor or friend to see yourself. Walking with a friend the other day, I shared with her that now at 71, am noticing more how I’m having trouble remembering things. I told her that if I share something with her that I’d shared before, just say “right”. She said she might not remember everything I’d shared before so hearing it again would give her more details that she’d like to hear/learn. We both smiled at each other, moving forward.
A good maxim can get you pretty far. A morning, a day, a month, a year, a lifetime, amid crisis and triumph. When I can’t find the right maxim along the golden rope or bungee cord that stretches back to the School of Athens, I make them up.
Lao tzu and I were headed to Auburn one weekend from Fort Benning in 1972. My thumb and haircut landed me a ride with an older girl headed to Mississippi. I ended up being her chauffeur and pit crew when a tire went flat. We said our goodbyes with a handshake.
Without a major award, I slinked back to Georgia through the darkest night in the history of Mississippi statehood and my life.
Lao tzu chuckled because he already knew it is easier to change a tire than a heart. Not sure that rises to be among high-minded maxims, but it sure the heck would make for a good country song.
The sweet fantasies of the hitch hike. Love on the thumb.
Your portrait on the home page has always bothered me. The arms folded thing is the classic self protection body gesture. It doesn’t reflect the open minded pilgrim that I think you are. Today’s message of Know Thyself is in sharp contrast to the photo in which you appear to be saying, “I know myself but you are on your own.”
Refreshing Randy. One of the many truths you teach. Cut through the rigamarole and act. You are so right about taking care of our bodies. For me, exercise helps me relax. For many of us working to be better humans knowing why we act as we do helps mitigate our negative or toxic traits.
I met myself once. I was unimpressed.
According to Thich Nhat Hanh, we “inter-are.” That is, we are hardwired as body-mind unions. Scientists and social scientists alike affirm that any kind of “knowing” emerges from that reality. Awareness of mind is fostered by awareness of body and vice versa.
It is an illusion to state that we “know ourselves alone.” After all, in many ways, we are the products of our ancestors. We are also social creatures, always wanting to seek meaningful relationships. Hence, the admonition to “love your neighbor as yourself” is timeless yet timely.
The late scholar Philip Simmons in his book Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life speaks of “mystical seeing” as a way to sense the oneness of life in transrational and transcendent, yet everyday, kinds of ways. It goes beyond linear thinking, although it can still include it. He speaks of seeing divinity within and without. It could be in a particular person, a beautiful tree, a piece of music or a line of poetry. Thus, there may be multiple ways of knowing, including within ourselves.
Ultimately, all words fall short, whether it be “self,” “true self,” or “soul”, before the Mystery. Perhaps letting go into this Mystery rather than overanalyzing it might be fruitful. Desmond Tutu put it this way: “Language is very powerful. Language does not just describe reality. Language creates the reality it describes.” In any case, something to ponder!
First off – those comments and short stories were excellent. The hitchhiker struck a cord. As did others. I know myself – through many travels and experiences. Many good and some definitely not. But I survived. And I was lucky to do so. And as I age I am happy to greet others. face to face – they help me know myself.