“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s. Their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.” Oscar Wilde
When struck with this statement, the question immediately came to mind, is this true of my life? To find out I inverted the statement:
Most people are themselves. Their thoughts are uniquely their own. Their lives are original, their passions a reality.
When I tested myself against these two opposites, I asked, which I’m closer to?
This is a worthy exercise that can help us test the truth and authenticity in our lives. Are we being who we want to be? Are we who we were meant to be? Or, are we trying to become a version of acceptable or ideal?
“Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us.”1 Which are you living? Whose thoughts are you thinking? Who are you mimicking? What unlived life are you avoiding?
“Know thyself” is a philosophical maxim that was inscribed upon the Temple of Apollo in Greece in the 5th century BC. It was by thinking, questioning, and exploring that the Greeks invented drama, philosophy, democracy, and Western civilization to name a few significant contributions.
Questioning and exploring ourselves is one of the most worthy pursuits of life. I hope these Bits of Wisdom help you along the journey of knowing yourself.
Remember, Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s. Their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.
Steven Pressfield, The War of Art.
Bits of Wisdom Podcast #58