Know yourself

The Temple of Apollo at Delphi had this inscription for everyone who entered it to read: “Know Thyself.” The implication seems to be clear: if we don’t know ourselves, how can we know anything else? A statement so simple as this has been quoted and discussed for millennia, and each time it acquires new meanings. Surprisingly, the majority of them are useful to us even today.

One of the first meanings that was ascribed to it was to “know your limits.” This has been so important to us lately. With mental health problems increasing so drastically, we need to know what we can and can’t do. We need to learn when and how to say no. We need to recognize when it is time to practice self-care. We must look to ourselves before we can help others.

Plato in the Socratic dialogues introduced the meaning of “know your soul.” This also has to do with the concept of microcosm-macrocosm, “as above, so below.” Our body is really a replica of the universe in miniature, according to this belief. If we understand ourselves we understand the cosmos, and the other way around.

With the development of psychoanalysis, “know your unconscious mind” was one of the latest meanings assigned to the maxim. That mysterious part of ourselves, for which we don’t have access through our consciousness, how can we understand it? Through dreams, through slips of our speech or memory, through that gut feeling. And of course, through therapy.

Whatever the meaning, the underlining message is this: you are the most important thing in your world. Know your limits. Take care of yourself. Dedicate time to explore your soul, including that hidden part inaccessible to our conscious mind.