Chapter I Verse X - Know Thyself

There used to be an old wooden sign that said in black, bold letters, ‘Know Thyself’. The sign was attached firmly to a turquoise building on the southern side of Shirley Street (just after you pass Kemp Road heading west) and if you were heading west you could not easily miss it. The whole thing looked as if it was produced with the hope that anyone who could read the sign, would.

No matter how many times I read those two words they made me think. A lot of us don’t get to know ourselves. Self-examination is hard and involves uncomfortable questions. Plus we are too busy figuring out what other people like so that we can manipulate them.

I often wonder what kind of decisions people would make if they were not so busy looking cool and being cold. Many times I have been part of a conversation when a person has said something like “I hate techno music”. This sort of divisive statement starts a pattern: The sheeple in the group rush to echo and cheer. The rebels in the group rebel but only to attract attention. Those people in the group that do like techno will probably keep their opinion to themselves. These kinds of statements force people to choose sides rather than express opinions. Why doesn’t it come out more like: “Does anyone here like techno music? I can’t figure out why people are into it.” This approach makes people think and gives them the chance to be honest. It allows some of us to like it, some of us not to and all of us to learn something. It is not as simple as one question, I know. We have to care about each other and be interested in learning something (Ahahahahahaha, as if! Ahahahahahahahaha).

Talking to people that are different from us gives us the chance to learn about a lifestyle unlike our own without having to deal with the consequences. Plus, if you offer understanding instead of judgment, you will find love and genius in the most unusual places. We can be right and different at the same time. We can also be good and different at the same time.

We like to classify in terms of right and wrong. If we can’t find a clear right and wrong we will use ‘normal’. If you dress particular ways, eat particular foods and talk about particular things you will be considered ‘normal’. Most of us want to be considered exceptional but if pushed we’ll take normal. That’s sad because it strangles individuality. Necessity creates tradition and individuality creates progress. As individuality dies tradition becomes oppressive and mechanical.

Often the things we most dislike about others are things that we dislike about ourselves. When something about another person makes you upset, consider how you would handle the same situation. It may surprise how much you share with people you dislike.

Using this principle to take the golden rule a little further, I would echo Sizzla by saying we should judge our neighbor’s actions with the same mercy that we judge our own. Knowing yourself is to know that you don’t look cute on the toilet, that you have made some dumb decisions and that the things you dislike about your life are your responsibility. By knowing that we are less than perfect we get closer to allowing other people to be less than perfect. Then, instead of being right and wrong we can just be ourselves.

- Dsus Pays