Know ThySelf
Discovering my future, by learning about the past and understanding its affects on my present.
My day job is all about b2b sales and account management. I spend much of that time positioning the company I work for as the industry standard for trust, reliability, and excellent quality of service(Best In Class: fill in the blank). My passion has been and will probably always be understanding how the environment and external inputs affect a person.
However, in my quest to understand how society affects a person’s behavior and outcomes, I found myself wandering down the halls of the past. This evolved to trying to understand society’s inputs that I personally receive, that have made me, me.
I am curious about nature, and I love to explore places, foods, cultures, and people who are new to me. I love creating new experiences for myself or shared experiences. I think I get that from my momma.
This gives me the excuse to always be learning, and never think that I have to be the expert in life (unless I am at work, then I am the expert or find someone who is). I can go around and learn new things, be teachable and never feel ashamed if I don’t have all the answers, nor will I allow someone externally to place that burden on me to have all the answers. It allows me the freedom to always be on a quest.
I am also extremely adaptable. One of my father’s mottos from when he was in the military was adapt or die. From him I have learned that I must keep an openminded that is not one way to do things, nor is there not one definition for success. This allows me to give myself the grace to be an ever-evolving person and not become closed-minded or stagnate.
There are a couple of Ancient Egyptian Sayings that speak to Knowing Oneself:
“Man, know thyself, and thou shalt know the Gods.”
“The body is the temple of the God within you; therefore it is said, ‘Man: know thyself.”
Coffin Texts, Spell 848: You are one who knows yourself.
Everyone attributes these saying to the Greek philosophers, but on my quest to know myself, I found that the history of much of the knowledge, religious belief systems, and even some of the holidays that we celebrate can be attributed to cultures even older than the ancient Greeks. Pythagoras, Socrates, and Aristotle are all quoted in creating this simple phrase Know Thyself, and the variations of the quote, however, it is also known that great Greek philosophers learn from the Egyptian mystery schools in Egypt. I do not find it a coincidence that if Pythagoras studied in Egypt and was one of the founders of Greek philosophy, the quote would be well known in those circles.
“Isocrates (b. 436 BC) states in Busiris that “all men agree the Egyptians are the healthiest and most long of life among men; and then for the soul they introduced philosophy’s training, a pursuit which has the power, not only to establish laws but also to investigate the nature of the universe.”
“He declares that Greek writers traveled to Egypt to seek knowledge. One of them was Pythagoras of Samos who “was first to bring to the Greeks all philosophy,” according to Isocrates.”
Plato states in Phaedrus that the Egyptian Thoth “invented numbers and arithmetic… and, most important of all, letters.”
In Plato’s Timaeus, Socrates quotes the ancient Egyptian wise men when the law-giver Solon travels to Egypt to learn: “O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are always children.”
Aristotle attests to Egypt being the original land of wisdom when he states in Politics that “Egyptians are reputed to be the oldest of nations, but they have always had laws and a political system.””
Over the next few months, I will share different books that I have acquired in my personal journal to KNOW THYSELF. Many of these books I use as reference books, and some I have read in the entirety. some books are physical, others are kindle books, and some are audiobooks (I have a whole life, please don’t judge me for reading via audiobooks).
I will share just a snapshot of my journey in past:
As you are going on your own journey of discovering oneself, I would love to hear your stories.
However, these are just my thoughts.
Other Articles apart of the Know ThySelf Series:
