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Do You
Dear friend,
A practical life philosophy: Do You.
Know Thyself
One of the wisest sayings in history by the oracle of Delphi:
Know thyself (yourself).
One of the first steps to wisdom is self-knowledge. I think before you discover other external truths about the world, we must first understand yourself. Why? You’re the instrument of Knowledge-seeking, and therefore you must make sure that you’re well-calibrated.
If you were a carpenter making a wooden desk, could you expect to make a good desk if your ruler was crooked? You’re the ruler; you must make sure to straighten and understand yourself first, before pursuing the external world.
Definitions
What does “do you” even mean?
Do: Action, pursue what you’re passionate about, make art which is authentic to you.
You: Pursue your own inner-truth, stay focused on yourself and your work, don’t compare yourself with others, and stay true to yourself.
Why I think this is a good life philosophy
1. An active life is a happy life
Do: To live a more fulfilling life, do more stuff! Be more active, make more stuff, make more photos, make more videos, make more films, make more poetry; make whatever your heart desires!
I think we often make the mistake of thinking that we will discover happiness by experiencing interesting or novel things, by owning a bunch of stuff, by traveling the world, and by having a bunch of money. I do believe that these things can help inspire us to create and make more stuff, but the ultimate goal should be us to be active and making stuff.
2. You
I also think that life should be focused on you. I do believe that individualism is good, and being self-centered and self focused is good. I believe it is possible to be self-focused without being an “evil selfish” person. It’s sad that in modern society, to be self-focused is synonymous for being evil.
Modern society is confusing. It tells us to be selfless, and to sacrifice ourselves for others (Christian morality). It also tells us that being selfish is evil (to only live for yourself, you will go to hell). But it’s my personal philosophy that we must be selfish and self-focused in order to help others; to help the greater good.
Empower yourself before empowering others
There’s an ancient saying by Publilius Syrus,
Don’t water the garden of others before you water your own garden.
Which means,
You cannot help/empower others, if you’re in a bad situation/disempowered.
If life was a video game/RPG, you need to first “level up” your own character, before helping other lower-level characters level up as well.
Parting words
Do you,
Stay true
To you.
Follow your own inner-light and shine bright.
Don’t hide your talents under a chair
Rather, share it widely, over here, over there; everywhere!
Do you
Stay you
It don’t matter if you’re pink or blue
Or whether you got big or small shoes
Do you
Follow your own inner-truth and share your findings with others
Share what’s true to you with your brothers and sisters
Share it out loud; don’t whisper.
Remember, what’s true for you isn’t true for everyone else
So don’t be a tyrant. Rather, be a gracious fire hydrant of knowledge and wisdom.
Everyday stay woke, stay risen.
Keep your eyes clean, follow your own vision.
You’re strong, lifted, and high
Take off the shroud of false reality
Fly higher than the sky.
ERIC