Know thyself: If we know ourselves, then no one can fool us or lead us astray.

Life is not dress rehearsal, as most of us seem to think. It is real. I grant you that it is full of dramas and that might be the reason why most of us seem to take it as such.  We all act our parts to the best of our abilities, but in life, unlike a play, we do not have rehearsals and do over’s. In the rare occasion, we are given do overs, but that is the exception than the rule. That is why we need to live our lives with intent and awareness. It is not a dress rehearsal, what we do not get right today; we will not be able to correct it on the next rehearsal. This is it.

Sometimes, either because we get so comfortable with the part we play or because we like the familiarity of the character we play, or because we are expected to continue to play the same roles by others, we get stuck on it. We continue to play the same role even when we are not in the same drama any more.  But, life is all about change, if we don't then we would not be able to grow or survive.

Sometimes, contrary to the truth, we believe that other people go through life playing the lead role, that they have all the answers, which their place is in the world, is better, that things always worked out better for them. The truth is, no one has all the answers. No other place is better than ours. Nobody’s life is turned out better than ours – at least not, in what matters most. We are playing the roles we are playing because that is what we want; no one has forced us to take the part. There is no reason to envy or blame others, the choice is ours. If we are willing to search our hearts, then we will realize that what we are searching for is already ours. It is in us. But, first we have to be willing to look inside of us, second we have to be willing to take responsibility for ourselves.

That is when we would be able to see that the pain of continuing to play the same roles we have been playing exceeds the pain of stopping. And, when we reach that point, we know that we have crossed the threshold. That is when the unthinkable becomes thinkable. Slowly the realization emerges that the choice to continue playing the same role is the choice to live in discomfort, pain and fear, and the choice to stop is the choice to breathe deeply and freely again. Once we realized that, we can either honor it or ignore it.

This realization put us in a position of self-responsibility. We can no longer blame our discomfort on others. The power to continue or to stop is fully in our hands. Our pain becomes a matter of our own choices. To stop the pain requires changing ourselves - changing our need to please or dominate others, to be right or wrong, to be strong or weak. At risk is an image we have created and sustained but that no longer serves us. No image of ourselves can survive the realization of what is causing us pain and fear. When and how to stop it is a voluntary act and only we can decide.  We cannot stop making choices, but the question is, would we honor our true self or would we honor our false image that we have created and nurtured. Making the choice is not as easy as we think; nevertheless, it has to be done. The clue as how to make the decision, I think lies in self-knowledge.

This is the first counsel that is written over the gateway to the entrance of Delphi “Know thyself” If we know ourselves, then no one can fool us nor lead us astray.

Break a leg!!!