You Don't Know Me, Do I?

"Know thyself. To thyself be true"

I love the above statement.

For I believe that before we set out to perceive, assume, and judge other people, we must first take a look within and know ourselves. Its an internal audit or feedback mechanism if you like to call it. To be able to self evaluate ourselves truthfully if we are better than what we are about to comment, preach and propagate.

All too often I have been involved in altercations that involve a clash of ideas or personalities that stem from an egotistical stand of not wanting to admit that I am wrong when clearly I know I am. It's a defense mechanism as I would have argued and stood up for unrelentingly. In fact the defense is so good that it becomes second nature to go on the offense and start to delude myself into thinking that if I can find someone else's wrong, then automatically I should be right.

Unfortunately this is not how problems should be solved.

I believe until I can know myself well enough to identify my good, my bad, my evil, my strengths, my weakness, my sins, and my whims, I will never know what I truly want and where I truly belong or ought to be. To sail without knowing what kind of ship I am or where the wind is blowing. While in certain aspects in life being serendipitous would have suffice, but not in life management, intra- and inter-relationship management.

I still remember a little quotation on a bookmark that I read and memorized when I was about 10. It read "God give me the serenity to accept the thing I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference".

I would also like to quote John F. Kennedy, who in 1963 said "Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings."



Knowing myself better, empowers me to change myself, the mortal man, to better suit the environment and its problems. For certain things cannot be changed. But that doesn't mean if we have changed ourselves that problem cannot be rectified. It's just a matter of being able to see it differently, think differently, do it differently. Don't remain status quo from within and certainly not in action or inaction.

I look upon the opening statement with renewed hope each day. I carry it as best as I can. Hopefully the world I am in contact with will subscribe to it with me.