Get to Know Yourself

Listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge…Success will follow - Viktor Frankl

To have any chance at a life fulfilled, at achieving some sense of accomplishment, of finding any sense of satisfaction in this crazy swirl of cosmos you find yourself in, you must learn to turn your attention inward and listen to yourself.

It’s not necessarily easy to do, to pause for a minute and take stock of what you think or what you feel, much less attach value and importance to it, and even less so to act on it.  Nor is it at all supported or encouraged in modern day, western cultures.

We are constantly being led away from our inner guidance system, and instead led to feel insecure, full of doubt, and fearful.  This is better for an economic structure built on consumption. There’s a product to solve for everything under the sun. We are addicted to treatments. We have few cures.

If you’re reading this, you’re looking for some answers. They are not here. They are inside you. But there is help. There are pointers, direction markers, and tips that can help you locate them.

I read a description recently, I think by Jon Kabat-Zinn, about maps and terrain. Maps are extremely helpful. They can guide us on the right path. But they are not at all the path itself and would never be mistaken for such. They are just attempts at conceptual renderings of realities. They are, as it is, nothing like reality at all. So, don’t confuse tools and techniques with the objective here. 

Take action. Embark. Set out and look. You are human, so you will find your way. 

You will need patience and persistence. Take them with you as essential supplies. You will need them at the beginning and, like entering the desert without food or water, it is foolish to assume you’ll be fine without them. But you don’t need much more on this most critical of journeys, so don’t despair. Eventually, as you get to know the terrain, these essentials you’ve carried will be consumed and fade away. You will find all else you need as you progress along the way.

Keep at it. Keep looking. Clarity will follow. It must. Like the rays of the sun reaching the earth after their seven minute journey through what is essentially nothingness, your light will illuminate that which you seek. 

Expect nothing and everything will follow. But you must look.

What you’re looking for, what needs to be found, may be hidden, quiet, and perhaps so subtle as to be barely detectable. But it is there to be sensed, located, and found. It’s real and it’s there.

Your job is simply to sit still, sit quiet, and look. Paradoxically, you actually shouldn’t try too hard, or try at all really, but we’re human, so let’s not get caught up in the logic of it. Think of it like smoke. Slowly, gently, it may rise to wisp around your fingers as you reach out with the desire to hold it, but it cannot be held. Instead, think of it this way: you are the smoke. There is nothing to reach out to and attempt to possess. That is an illusion. It is you that you seek. You already have it, you are it. 

Sit. Be still. Be quiet. And observe. Eventually, over time, you will begin to see, and see with clarity. And that which you see is that which you are. And the seeking ceases. There is no need to seek it, find it, possess it, because it is already you. You only need to, well, know it.

Start small. Starting small is not only okay, it’s the only way to longevity in success one way or the other.  A thousand mile journey begins with a single step as they say, and, yes, the thousand mile journey in the end will require another two million steps or more. There is no value in obsessing about the two million. The only thing to think about is the next step. 

Just take a step. Take two minutes. Anyone can sit for two minutes. 

That’s it. Set a timer. Sit down. Be still. And do nothing else. Just sit and be still. 

That is the journey.  

Confused? Need a map? Okay, close your eyes, too. Put your attention on your breath. Take a position of watching it rather than controlling it. Notice when thoughts arise, and come back to your breath. Notice when feelings arise, and come back to your breath. But remember, those are just lines on the page helping you to give you some context, some perspective so you don’t feel completely lost. They are not the journey.  The journey is the doing. 

Still confused? Feeling lost? Feeling frustrated? Fine, stop and take a look at the map. Find a ranger station. Visit your local library. Sure, educate yourself. But also know there are plenty of train markers along the way and eventually you’ll learn to recognize them. Everything you need is on the path itself. It’s all there. And just when you think not, you’ll find a cache – a bounty of supplies left by a trail angel who has come this way many times before and knows how tough this segment can be.

Stay on the journey. Keep moving forward. It’s a magical process. There’s a reason it’s commonly referred to as spiritual. You don’t have to name it. That’s just another key on the map’s legend. It’s not the terrain. Helpful, yes, but don’t mistake it for the journey itself.  Call it what you want. Call it what you will. Call it nothing. It doesn’t need a name. Just engage and embark.

Start today. Sit. Be still. Start. And start again.. For two minutes. And do the same tomorrow. 

And see what happens.