Who am I?  How do I know myself?  


Of course, you have heard people talk about finding themselves.  Where had they gone in the interim?  I am sure their friends and family could have told them where they were, but would that information have helped the person in search of self?  Unlikely.


Rene Descartes said he knew he existed because someone or something (ego, I) was aware he existed (cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I am).  He said, outside of that, he had no idea if there was any external reality because he realized that much that his mind produced seemed to be untrustworthy.  The senses can be fooled by optical illusions; rationale can be altered by paradigms (mindsets) and semantics (word-play); social organizations like governments and even families can easily be swayed by illogical, pathos-laced arguments.


When I consider definitions of myself, how much am I aware how their power to define me can also confine me? Soren Kierkegaard said, "Once you label me, you negate me."  I read this to say, when you tell me who I am, I also must not be something else.  In other words, your definition (de + finite, limited) limits me.  But it is also true to say that our own definitions limit us.  That is to say, because of the self-fulfilling prophecy, we become what we have limited ourselves to, to what definitions we have come to accept of self.


To quote a popular song by EnVogue - "Free your mind and the rest will follow."  One key to opening up the human mind to its greatest potential is not being stuck on always knowing.  Not knowing also has value, because it acts on the mind like thirst does for the body.  It keeps us curious and modest, aware of both our strengths and our limitations.