KNOW YOURSELF. LIFE WILL BE BETTER.

 The famous Delphic maxim, Know Thyself, spread by Socrates and later by Plato in his writings, is also found in earlier philosophers. In the same way, we also notice it in philosophers of the modern era, and in Freud's theories of the unconscious. Although its syntax seems easy to understand, if we try to explain what this aphorism means, many of us will find the task difficult. Knowing oneself in depth is not an easy journey, especially because we do not really know what it is that we must know better. Since we tend to hide all that we dislike about ourselves in our unconscious, we are also inclined to concentrate on what is easy to detect. However, if we live our life with our intimate eyes closed, our relationships with the rest of the world will not last long. Many years ago, when I was much younger and knew almost nothing about psychology, I fell in love with a guy who, in one of our first intimate conversations, confessed that his mother was a hateful human being. Although his words surprised me, I did not really give it too much thought, probably because I did not know how deeply his negative maternal feelings were going to affect me. As a matter of fact, I did not have to wait long before my boyfriend began to project the anger he felt towards his mother onto me. His antagonism towards her was so deeply rooted that he needed to get rid of it and free himself one way or the other; and, for many reasons, I was the perfect receptacle. Although in the beginning I did not understand why our relationship had changed so much in only a few months, I then was able to realize that his aggressive behavior had nothing to do with me; he was not dealing with me but with his mother. Our relationship did not last because his constant need to belittle me (i.e. his mother figure) became intolerable. If my partner had decided to get in touch with his maternal feelings honestly, he would have understood that not only he thought his mother was a hateful human being, but also that he deeply hated her. Giving a deep look inside himself would have undoubtedly eliminated his need to project his maternal aversion on our relationship, and we would have shared a beautiful life encounter.