Know Thyself

Why do we get offended when people say things about us or things happen to us?  Sometimes we get offended or hurt over the simplest things or over something that makes no sense at all.  The problem lies in the fact that we do not know who we truly are.  If we do not know who we truly are then how in the heck do we expect anyone else to know who we are?  So we get hurt by not getting appreciated or for being taken advantage of or for being lied to or mistreated or for a thousand other reasons.  We are not confident in who we are and who we were created to be.  We are not assured that we have purpose and value no matter what happens so when something negative comes our way we get hurt.  If we were confident in the Creator creating his creation perfectly for a specific purpose we would not get hurt or offended by these things.  We should be focused on utilizing the creation for the Creator and our response would be to the world and people around us would be “let come what may.”  Alas for most of us that is not the case because we have yet to find our identity, so we are getting hurt and wounded.  But we as humans are good at covering up the hurt and the pain.  We cover it up so much that soon we develop calluses.  And soon we are being hurt but we are so numb to the pain that we do not even know that we are being hurt.  That is the worst place to be.  If you have no nerve endings then you can lose a finger or arm and not even feel it or know it.  We have become so numb to the pain that we lose part of ourselves without even feeling it or knowing it.  And our response becomes “I am tough enough, I did not need that part of me anyway.”  Then those things about us that we want to protect from getting hurt we hide deep inside us to no one can get to them ever again…including ourselves.  What a tragedy!  So by not knowing who we are and letting others define who we are we have completely lost or hidden away that which would give us the greatest peace and joy.  So in the words inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi….KNOW THYESLF