The Essence of Life is the Journey of Self-Discovery

Confucius once said “ The discovery of ones self is the fundamental base of all progress and moral development.” James A. Michener said “ If a man happens to find himself he has a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity for all the days of his life.” Richard Wright ( author of Native Son, 1940) said “ Man can starve from lack of self-realisation as much as from a lack of bread.” But why do so many brilliant minds of our past express these truths in quotes for the world to remember and cherish for decades and centuries to come? It is because these people -some of the many analytical minds in history- have discovered and empowering universal truth which one must learn and reflect upon before one can capture and relish the quintessence and spirit of life. The essence of life is the journey of self-discovery. The essence of life is finding oneself during the course of our lives. The essence of life is moulding and uncovering ones own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state of being for maximum life fulfilment.

The discovery of self is something that we build on each and every day of our lives regardless of what we do, where we go, who we associate with or how we feel. Who influences this journey? Everyone. When is this journey? Why, it is a cradle to grave experience. It can be influenced by anyone and anything we experience, however small, often without our knowledge. Our subconscious mind is what moulds us and it picks up and cache more than one may ever realise. However we must realise that it is the six “pillars” of self-discovery that makes this journey the spirit and essence of our lives and are the skeleton keys for anybody to unlock and discover their true, entire state of being. Though we are all diverse, unique individuals, it is these same six pillars that mould every being on earth. These are - our belief systems, our relationships, our hopes and dreams, our knowledge and experience and the development of virtues and the acceptance of self. Only with these six essentials can one truly be enlightened in the journey of self discovery and therefore enlightened in the essence of life.

For our paths of self discovery to be insightful and beneficial to us, one must learn not to judge and belittle themselves but focus on self-improvement and reformation of our more negative behaviours. The journey of self-discovery is the essence of our lives so is we choose self discovery to be a time of judgement in our lives we will be judging - and therefore devaluing- the essence of our lives. If we choose self discovery to be a time of improving then we will be improving - and thus having a higher level of satisfaction and gratification in- the essence of our lives. Judgement of ourselves will, in turn, lead to judgement of other people which obfuscates

the journey and obscures the full potential of ones own self because one is too consumed in finding fault in others. Improvement of ourselves will, in turn, lead to help wanting to help improve the lives of others which empowers us on our journey and aids us in even further improvement of ourselves.

The essence of life is the journey of self discovery. Therefore the discovery of oneself need to be acknowledged to be a path, a passage, a peregrination - thus, a journey - as opposed to an exact time, place or achievement - thus, making it a destination . Anais Nin once said “ Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” Therefore one cannot say that ones discovery of oneself can come from a single event- however cataclysmic. Self discovery does not come from a marriage, a divorce, a job promotion, cosmetic surgery or even a combination of them all. While these are all important and acknowledgeable in the formation of oneself, they are not the six pillars of self discovery, nor are they a cradle to grave experience. Thus, events such as these are labelled milestones of self-discovery as opposed to total self-discovery from that moment onwards. Therefore, while major life events adds to the essence, it is not the essence. Again, Confucius backs up this theory with his quote “ They must often change, who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.”

At a certain stage of ones life, one will often begin to consider what is influencing their own journey of self-discovery. In an ever-changing world of diminishing morals, a revolution in technology and powerful, unavoidable media forcing a wide range of images and messages upon us, one must learn to be able to separate themselves from the superficial, the immoral and the negative influences of modern society to form their six pillars of self discovery- our belief systems, our relationships, our hopes and dreams, our knowledge and experience, the development of virtues and the acceptance of self- with perception and sophistication. If we look for our essence - or the basis of our self discovery- in external factors such as media images and the outward projection by a large sector of people behaviour which lacks virtues and encourages a life negative influences, then we run the risk of discovering a part of ourselves which is superficial and shallow and run the risk of becoming ignorant people who contribute little or no positive attributes to a world which lacks them already. Lord Alfred Tennyson once said “ Self reverence, self knowledge, self-control- These three alone lead life to sovereign power.” He was, in fact, more than justified in this profound statement and one should look to that quote when discovering oneself in a meaningful, perspicacious light.