Interesting
Paradox


By Alison Kain


Have you ever noticed how much
time we spend attempting to get to
know someone only to arrive at the
epiphany that, in some ways, we
rarely ever really fully know another?
How many times have you said, "I
thought I knew them so well, but..."?


Consider this...most of us spend most of
our time looking outward; one of the
greatest reasons we do this is to
develop relationships of various types
(e.g. work, love, friends, etc...) in all their
glorious myriad of complex, simple,
beautiful, difficult various shapes and
types. Still, I've noted that seldom have
these relationships been built upon a
very solid foundation since we use them

(albeit usually unconsciously) to avoid
getting to know ourselves first and well.

Odd, wouldn't you agree?



What would happen if we spent even
I postulate this then for your consideration:
half as much time attempting to know
Would the very act of knowing ourselves not
ourselves (and not in an arrogant nor
also allow for the furthering and deepening of
narcissistic manner) as we do others?
our various relationships; their structure, their
Would we come to know the depths of
Essence, their beauty? Why? In what ways
who we truly are - and not by labels or
would this help? (You may be asking those
demographic language? In short, the
questions now).
gist of the question becomes, if we
spent as much time looking to
I believe, in my own humble estimation and
understand our own motives, our
experience, that the very art of undertaking the
thoughts, our fears, our hopes, our joys,
act of knowing one's truest self leads to less
would we sincerely know ourselves well
desire to blame others for our faults, stops
enough to even begin to realize all that
blockades from being erected by us out of fear
we are this day and can be at any given
of being hurt, stops justifying maltreatment of
point?
others, leads to greater respect for self and

therefore subsequently also others, and, last but
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