The Greatest Advice

[Mary Naeem]

قداسة البابا تواضروس الثاني



مقال لقداسة البابا تواضروس الثاني في مجلة الكرازة أعظم نصيحة


Editorial Article by H.H. Pope Tawadros II in Kiraza Magazine: The Greatest Advice




On July 20, 1969, man walked on the moon for the first time in history. They asked the scientist who invented the rocket that carried the spacecraft there: “Now that we have reached the moon to explore it, is there another place we should strive to discover and reach?” The scientist paused and replied, “Yes, there is a place—the one inside our heads!” By this, he meant the human mind, soul, and ambitions.

Despite the many specialized sciences, the knowledge of the human soul remains incomplete. Therefore, the phrase inscribed on the walls of one of the ancient Greek temples,

“Know Thyself,”

which was later explained by the philosopher Socrates, remains the greatest piece of human advice known to man.

Knowing oneself involves a set of spiritual, internal, and existential dimensions that a person uses to fully, or nearly fully, discover themselves, identifying the talents, capabilities, skills, and thoughts that shape their personality with the aim of developing and enhancing them.

Some psychologists identify six essential indicators to help you know yourself:

1. Value System: The values you cherish, such as helping others or creativity

2. Interest System: Your hobbies and the things that captivate you

3. Mood Type: Whether you are open, introverted, smiling, sharp-tempered, etc.

4. Activity Pattern: Whether you prefer the morning, enjoy staying up late, and at what time you are most active.

5. Goal Setting: The earlier you set your goals, the better.

6. Strengths and Weaknesses: Strengths signify your success and beyond

The Book of Proverbs aptly describes that “a satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb” (27:7), meaning the soul that is satisfied with love, knowledge, contentment, success, and strength, while to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet. This highlights the importance of the books of wisdom such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Job, and the Epistle of James, which provide readers with deeper understanding of themselves, their lives, and their times. It is spiritually beneficial to read these books regularly alongside other biblical readings.

It is known that there are 12 psychological laws that help a person know themselves, and applying them can significantly change one’s life:

1. The Law of Inner Peace: Withdrawing from chaos is priceless.

2. The Law of Mental Intelligence: Ignoring someone reduces them to their true size, no matter who they are.

3. The Law of Letting Go: Not everything you give up is a loss; some things are the beginning of something better.

4. The Law of Self-Development: Find a place at the top for yourself because the bottom is overcrowded.

5. The Law of Self-Assertion: Occasionally update your rules and methods to become clear and distinctive to everyone.

6. The Law of Excellence: Create in your own style while being completely relaxed, and others will follow.

7. The Law of Challenge: Create a space for yourself among the greats and have it recognized.

8. The Law of Time Management: Be like a ship navigating the waves with knowledge, understanding, and serious study.

9. The Law of Goals: A life without a goal is like a body without a soul-both are worthless.

10. The Law of Awareness: If you don’t recognize your mistakes, you won’t learn what is right.

11. The Law of Learning: If you don’t suffer, you won’t learn.

12. The Law of Change: If you don’t change, you are wasting your life.

Dear reader, you need to know, memorize, and apply these twelve laws throughout your life to understand even a little bit about yourself, comprehend your life, and succeed.

The soul is deep, vast, elusive, and has needs just like the body. It requires appreciation, security, compassion, and also love.

If we want to explain what is meant by “Know yourself,” we must understand the following:

● Know Your Human Reality: You were created in the image of God and are distinguished by two things: the first is thought, intellect, and creativity; the second is freedom in time and space.

● Know Your Personal Reality: There are different personality types such as social, leadership, calm, or perfection-seeking… You must fully understand your personality type.

● Know Your Life or Behavioral Reality: Therefore, I advise you to read about Gideon (Judges 7), Samson (Judges 16), St. Paul the Apostle (Galatians 1:11-17), or the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). All of this should be done in light of the living and active Word of God, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and discerning the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Finally, I guide you to practical exercises to know yourself:

1. Reading: The Bible, cultural, artistic, and literary works, as well as biographies and memoirs.

2. Consultation, Friendship, and Dialogue: With elders, gathering knowledge from everyone.

3. Solitude, Meditation, Quietness, Prayer: Deep thinking, journaling, and writing in general.

4. Experience: Through travel, relationships, and all forms of human interactions under various circumstances.

But beware of the danger zones where the soul can fall:

● First: The self and authority, or leadership and seeking fame and popularity without humility or reverence.

● Second: Wealth and possessions, or acquiring earthly and materialistic desires without looking towards heaven or the future.

● Third: Sexual desires and the many lusts of the body, with temptation, betrayal, and the pitfalls of emotions in humiliation and disgrace.

In summary, if you do not know yourself, you may live in idleness, individuality, perfectionism, obsession, immorality, fear of failure, or excessive indulgence in social media without limits, causing your soul and mind to become distorted, leaving you living outside a true understanding of yourself.

Be careful.