"Know Thyself"..........yeah...right

Alright, so...I'm going to come across as sounding really random with this, but its something that has practical application to me, so I posted it.

I'm not going to lie, I think Socrates had a pretty good idea with that whole "Know Thyself" line. In knowing one's self, one completely understands what is the driving force in their life...what they truly want to see come from their actions and why that is. Even more, one must be able to see what is present in their life and know what things must be cut away for their dreams to become reality. The ability to actually see what "makes one tick" is an insight without value that could/would prove to be an invaluable help in nearly every aspect of one's life. So, in short, by knowing one's self, one can accomplish anything.

Speaking of reality, however, is it truly possible to completely understand what thoughts and ideas lie behind each word and action? Perhaps I am the only one that is blind to the motivations that lead to certain decisions, or indecisions as the case may be. So, yes, Mr. Socrates, I will quickly admit that to "know thyself" would be very helpful indeed. Where I stumble, however, is in the execution of this. The way I see it, we come to know who we are through making decisions and not only in the action of the decision itself, but in the process of deciding.

Maybe I'm just rambling a lot of junk out onto the web, but I don't think I want to try to "know myself," to be completely honest. Now, let me explain before you start laughing about me, Eric, claiming to know more than one of history's greatest philosophers with regards to one of his most famous sayings. Think about it, if we knew were to try to know everything about ourselves, what room would there be to learn...to grow? We would get caught up in such a riot of viewing ourselves, we would never see anything else. I think this quote by Andre Gide sums it up quite nicely.

     "'Know thyself' - a maxim as pernicious as it is odious. A person
        observing himself would arrest his own development. Any
        caterpillar who tried to 'know himself' would never become
        a butterfly. "

So, today, as you make decisions, don't try to learn more about yourself...BE yourself, leave the learning up to Greek philosophers.