“Know thyself” is an ancient
Greek aphorism that has been quite common-place through the ages.
Understanding the very essence of
our being or the essence of our very existence should be at the very top of our
quest – to know.
Exploration of our self,
personality, traits and inherent tendencies is in fact the foremost and (to my
view) the greatest feat of exploration.
To come to a better understanding
of the world, its people and in fact the Universe, we must first come to an
understanding of our very own person.
African parenting and societal
norms often dictates that (if need be) we must sacrifice and suppress our very
own make-up in order to live by certain ideals, values or even live to the
dictates and after others. An example of this has seen parents often dictating
the career choices of the children. The western world is in itself also not
exempt from this abhorrent act of pushing others to abide by certain Norms and
(unwritten) edicts even when they are anathema to our individuality. This is
often done with subtlety rather than dictatorial enforcement being utilised by
their African counterparts.
The essence of this article
should not be misconstrued as promoting a free-for-all sort of existence which
will become the bedrock for a morally depraved society and possibly a lawless
one for that matter. There is a right way to live, but it is still possible to
live true to your identity within the framework of a generally acceptable way
of living. It is true that expression of certain personalities can reflect in a
negative way, but it also true that every personality can be expressed
positively! This form of transformation is what the word of God through the
Holy Spirit brings to manifestation when he is in you. For an example of this,
one needs not look any further than the life of Saul who was transformed to
Paul (the apostle).
Personality (in my opinion) can
be likened to a molten magma! – You can only suppress it for so long. It is
better for one to consciously let His or her personality bubble up steadily
like a spring than for it exploding out in a torrent like a volcano. The former
enables us come to an understanding of ourselves and tailor our actions
“rightly” based on our personalities, in ways that will be better suited for
the common good of Not only ourselves but also those around us and ultimately
the greater society. The latter, being an explosion only leaves room for
actions based on “un-harnessed” impulse which will be a polar opposite of
Rationalized responses.
I am in no way discounting from
the importance of good parenting and/or punitive measures for deviant behaviours,
what I am instead advocating for is a harmony of good parenting – which will
help us understand the right way of doing things – and also encouragement
towards expression of ones self.
Good parenting teaches us to
understand ACTIONS and CONSEQUENCES. It lays the foundation for us to
understand the principle of taking
responsibility. With a solid foundation; when the time comes for us to act
based on our personality, we are able to rationalize and therefore ACT in ways
that are in consonance with the tenets of Harmonious, appropriate and cultured
living.
In searching out yourself and
going all out to understand who you are and why you are the way you are, you
are bound to stumble here and there; but hey! It is much better to stumble on
little stones and pick-up valuable lessons than stumbling over a single boulder
and doing tremendous damage with consequences you might not be able to recover
from.
image gotten from: http://www.wholisticwomanretreats.com/know-thyself-by-laura-hall/
