"Know thyself, cultivate thyself and be true to thyself." (Part I)

The great English poet William Shakespeare once wrote the phrase that graces the title of this post, a phrase that calls us to reflection and action:

Know thyself, cultivate thyself, and be true to thyself."

In this series of three posts I will share with you my opinion on this maxim. In this first part I will develop the theme of self-knowledge, something that thinkers and philosophers have already taught us throughout the history of mankind.

"Know thyself."

The famous inscription on the pronaos (front) of the temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece (and also on the door of the Oracle's kitchen in "The Matrix"). A more than interesting invitation because since we are children, our elders always want us to know the outside world, to know about sciences, arts, trades and others, but few are those who encourage us to know our inner world, thoughts, emotions and even our body and how it reacts to what surrounds it and what happens inside our mind and emotions To know ourselves we must meditate, self-analyze, make a list of our faults and our virtues. To look inside ourselves, to understand ourselves, to judge ourselves correctly. Books, videos, coaching exercises, psychotherapies and other tools and techniques can help us to know more about ourselves. To know why we act or react in certain ways, to detail every nook and cranny of our character and personality. It is not an easy job, but it is fascinating and necessary, as another inscription in one of the rooms of the same temple reminds us:

"I warn you, whoever you are, who wish to probe the arcana of nature, that if you do not find within yourself that which you seek, neither will you be able to find it outside. If you are ignorant of the excellencies of your own house, how can you pretend to find other excellencies? In you is hidden the Treasury of Treasures. Man, know thyself, and thou wilt know the universe and the gods.

---

---

Anything else to add to such words? I don't think so. And moreover, I could end with that, highlighting the fact that if we get to know ourselves and find in us what we are looking for, we will not have to look for it outside, or be or act otherwise. That if we manage to know and be aware of our own excellences, why should we imitate others or appropriate other people's practices that do not coincide with those excellences that are within each one of us?

We do not have to go so far in time and distance to find valuable phrases or reflections. The great Venezuelan broadcaster Renny Otolina left us these words to think about. In one of his television programs, commenting on some children traveling around the country, he said the following

How can you love your country if you don't respect it? And how can you respect it if you don't admire it? And how can you admire it if you don't know it?

He was referring to the country, but I would like to apply it to personal life. How can I love myself if I do not respect myself? how can I respect myself if I do not admire myself? how can I admire myself if I do not know myself?

See you in the next post.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

---

Original and unpublished: G. S. Bilbao.