I agree with Socrates when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I know things are true for me because I have lived them. It has been through self-examination that I have achieved some peace of mind and, like Socrates, I find that the older I get, the less I know. To admit this is to give up. As Deepak Chopra says, “Through surrender, the needs of the ego, which can be extremely selfish and unloving, are transformed into the true need of the spirit, which is always the same: the need to grow.” Chopra and Socrates embody the spirit of examination that I believe is essential to living a worthwhile life.
Throughout Socrates’ journey, he listened to an inner voice to help guide him. His purpose in life was to reveal the truth, no matter the cost. Material rewards had no regard for Socrates. The peace of mind he had, living his life with purpose, made it worth living. Integrity, humility and dignity were all values he lived by. Admitting that he knew nothing gave him the freedom to ask questions that another man would be embarrassed to ask. Socrates searched for men who were on an intellectual level with him and beyond him. He would ask them difficult questions, which would shake their foundations.
Their goal of revealing the truth was more important than hurting the pride of these respected figures. She was boarding them for their own good. Who would want to live a life of shadows and half truths? Socrates felt that he owed it to these scholars. Doing this gave him the satisfaction of seeing himself through the eyes of God. He was, after all, here to do God’s work.
Socrates would have been a great defender of the saying “Question authority.” If this philosopher had owned a car (or a bus), I’m sure he would have had it covered in bumper stickers with this rebellious saying.
Unfortunately, Socrates lived in a time when questioning authority paid a heavy price. It doesn’t matter, this truth seeker stayed true to his values until the end. He never gave in to admit that he had done something wrong. His integrity would not allow it. He always maintained the claim that he did not “know” anything. In this, his humility was transparent. And he got the judges to hear him, in his own words, in his own words, without interruption. So, for what it was worth, he left with dignity. Socrates did die at the hands of the judges who were listening to him. But, in his heart and mind, he prevailed, for they will be remembered for killing one of the greatest philosophers and wisest men of all time.
Deepak Chopra would be proud of Socrates. As Chopra says, “Approaching God through true knowledge heals the force of death, confirms the existence of the soul, and gives ultimate meaning to life.” Chopra is an example of a man who embodies the values of integrity, hard work, and compassion. Successful in the material world, his hard work led him to write 16 books, which have been translated into 25 languages. Chopra is a physician and serves as the CEO and founder of the Chopra Wellness Center in La Jolla, California.
In his daily life, Chopra sometimes goes from being a sympathetic listener to something of a trusted counselor or adviser. He says: “I just want to open the path to intuition, acting as its midwife – it is up to each person to give birth.” In this way, he is like Socrates: he helps people discover the truth for themselves.
Deepak Chopra symbolizes the compassionate man who hunts down lost souls in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In the practical world, it’s the people who come to him (since they know of his reputation). In Chopra’s book, The Path to Love, he tells of a woman who came to him for help. Nina, a very “close” businesswoman, was going through a bad time in her relationships with men. When Chopra asked her to stay still and express what she really felt, she relaxed and became vulnerable. She cringed to think she was a mess, but Chopra reassured her with these sage words: “We can all be hurt, all of us. People who try to deny this have to live inside a shell of denial. That’s not what you want.” …your existence is an expression of love, the only real expression it can have. Everything else is an illusion.”
So this journey to enlightenment or peace (or whatever you want to call it) is a lifetime event, if it’s all just wishful thinking. Just as you uncover one layer, you find another, then another, and yet another. Chopra’s approach to revealing the truth is tempered with a greater regard for people’s feelings and tact than Socrates. One must then conclude that compassion was a value he lived by.
People like Socrates and Deepak Chopra have paved the way for people like me (and others) to understand what makes life worth living. I am constantly fighting with my dark side. I feel remorse for inappropriate actions I have taken in the past, but I have allowed forgiveness to become a healing force so I can move on. I always get a clear answer from my gut – it’s available to all of us (our inner source) if we listen. It is in quiet moments that God speaks to us.
I also gain strength by reading inspirational books, like Chopra’s The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. This book tells how we can live our lives to their fullest potential. Where you are right now is a reflection of the choices you have made in your life. So if you are not satisfied with what is in front of you, do something different, choose a different thought, act differently. The biggest change may come from the simplest implementation.
I’m not proud of some things I’ve done in the past, but I’m grateful for the courage to trust in the goodness of the world. I’m also grateful to realize that no matter what life throws my way, I can handle it. I believe that the true nature of man is kind. I may be wrong… it wouldn’t be the first time. But, believing this, I can act in such a way as to put myself in places where I feel comfortable being. I also seem to surround myself with people who support this way of thinking.
In conclusion, I believe the benefits and rewards far outweigh the harms and costs of living an examined life. Living life without examining is equivalent to living your life with your head in the sand. It is suffocating and isolating. There is no possible opportunity to connect with any human being on a deep level if you are living the dark side of your life. You become a fraud, either laden with guilt or simply without a conscience. You tend to build a shell around yourself, as Chopra eluded before. The harder the shell becomes, the more difficult it is to penetrate it.
But, the rewards of having friends who really know you, and love that wonderfully flawed person, makes the examined life worth living. Once you are on the path of living an examined life, you not only enrich your life with love and peace of mind, but you put yourself in a position to cast out the shadows of souls that live in the dark.
Kim McGinnis, Copyright 2011 / Avenstar Productions