Know thyself. – The Oracle
Today is my birthday; it is also my fifth anniversary for my blog. Yesterday as I was reading, two words caused me to stop and reflect a bit – and then to reflect a bit more. I then took pen in hand and I began to put some thoughts on paper. The two words: guiding principles.
It seems to me that as human beings we each, over time, develop and integrate a number of principles that provide us guidance as we strive to live our lives. I have come to call these ‘Guiding Life Principles.’ Some of these are conscious, some reside in our pre-conscious and some reside in our sub-conscious. The ones that reside in our sub-conscious are quite powerful and are not easily accessible. Our unconscious guiding life principles are connected to – tied at the hip if you will – our deep tacit assumptions.
When I awoke this morning and I began to consider what I might write about on my birth-day it occurred to me to write a bit about some of my guiding life principles – the ones that are easily accessible to me. As I share mine, I invite you, gentle reader to spend some time emerging and reflecting upon yours.
The unexamined life is not worth living. –Socrates
I will up the ante a bit by adding this: To refuse to examine our guiding life principles is potentially immoral.
Know thyself. Thousands of years ago the Oracle at Delphi provided us with these words of guidance. As far as I know, for thousands of years the great wisdom traditions and the great wisdom figures have supported this primary life principle. Who I am and who I am choosing to become powerfully influences, if not directly determines, how I will choose to act.
Socrates upped the ante when he told us that the unexamined life is not worth living. I have come to believe this. Socrates did not add that refusing to do so would be immoral – but I think that refusing to do so is, indeed, potentially immoral. Why would I want to live a life and not be fully conscious (think: awake and aware, intentional and purpose-full) of who I am and of the life I am choosing to live?
What else might I seek to ‘know’ about myself? Each of the following directly or indirectly determine ‘how’ we will choose to live our life. If I am freely going to choose for or choose against then it is important that I ‘know’ and ‘understand’ each of the following. Here is my short list: Core Life Values’ (the 3-4 values that to the best of my ability I will never compromise), my prejudices, stereotypes, lenses through which I view the world (think: Core Life Metaphors as a major lens. For example: ‘Life is a never-ending struggle’ is a powerful core life metaphor that some have integrated), my deep tacit assumptions/beliefs (think, for example: I assume that people are inherently good versus I believe that people are inherently sinners). There are others but these will have to suffice for today.
At our healthiest, as a fully imperfect human being, I am, at my best, a living paradox. I am good and evil, I am virtue and vice, and I am light and darkness. At any moment I am moving toward one of these polarities and I am moving toward another. As a fully imperfect human being it is impossible for me to become ‘pure’ light or ‘pure’ darkness. Historically, people have come close to both but have never become complete ‘light’ or complete ‘darkness.’
Seeking to Know Thyself is a life-long journey. It is a search that is never ending.
We will continue our exploration of some of my Guiding Life Principles next time.
My life is my message. –Gandhi
Searcher-Seeker 
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