This time of quarantine lock downs has brought different things for different people, inconvenience, fear and worry, binge watching movies and TV series, making inane videos, or just numbing out, all just to to kill time. Or, they’re taking the time to relax, rethinking what is most important and meaningful in their lives. The events of this catalytic time gives rise to all sorts of questions about personal, social, and political life. For many individuals, such questions do not need to be spurred by such a trying time, but here we are, and whoever we are, and however we live our lives, change will come about.
Inscribed above the entrance of the temple of the Ancient Greek Delphic mysteries, was the admonition, “Know Thyself.” From this same stream, Plato said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Biography means “life-writing,” in which we are always engaged through simply living. For those of us who recognize the truth in Plato’s statement, we feel impelled to be aware of what we are “writing.” But what of our experiences are being “written” into our being?
Our lives are works in progress, that metamorphose and transform through time, unless we are rigidly identifying with certain perceptions, feelings, and habits. But even the most obstinate rigidity will have to change over time. When we speak of biography, we are really speaking of destiny. What we think, feel, and do in our lives becomes inscribed, thus becomes what we design, or destine for what comes next in our lives, thus becomes our destiny.
Rudolf Steiner encourages us, “To contemplate the destinies of human beings with reverence and awe – that is something that our times demand of us.” We are usually so caught up with the goings on of our lives, that we don’t realize how incredibly wonderful our lives truly are. The fact that each of us have individual destinies and stories, and that we have the capability to change and determine our lives, is worthy of holy awe and celebration.
Our current age in which we live calls us to be aware of our individuality, and to live our lives as an “I” amongst other “I”s. In the past 50 + years, there has been a growing number of teachings and therapies that focus on individual growth, on being a strong and healthy “I”. This is necessary, but can go in a one-sided direction. For a balanced life, we must also engage in the art of creating a healthy social life.
We all have questions that stay with us and keep us up at night, and the important decisions we have to make. Do you want to take a new direction in life? Are you in the middle of a crisis, and wonder how and why you got into the dark spot you’re in? Do you simply want to understand others? These kinds of questions are starting points for embarking upon biographical work.
When we question the meaning of life, or feel stuck in a mid-life crisis, or feel trapped by parenting or in a job, biography work will give new perspectives, energy, and enthusiasm when we realize that not only do we have all that is necessary to direct our lives, but that each of us is the author who constructed the plot for our life’s story, from the beginning. This is a key to understanding our life’s purpose and intention.
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