What a 16th Century Astronomer Can Tell Us About Being Human…
[ Reading time ~ 3 minutes. ]
INTRODUCTION
The following words by Galileo were the very first words that told me to “look within”. Something about these words startled me, at the time, to be honest. These words really were mind-blowing. Seems a bit silly now, but I really must have believed at the time that other people always know what’s best for me.
Anyway, I wrote the following piece in 2011. For my Self-Help site, SelfHelpCollective.com. They still ring true. Which is why I include them here, pretty much verbatim.
The Answer ‘Within’
This Galileo inspirational quote used to be my absolute favourite quotation – because I believe it reveals a truth about our true power.
Because I believe it reveals that we don’t need to seek wisdom from outside, but that we CAN trust to find it in ourselves.
Because I believe Galileo’s quote enables us and empowers us – this is our life, my life and your life, and WE are in charge!
What’s great about Galileo’s inspirational quote, for me anyway, is that it vindicated my decision to build the Self Help Collective website in the first place (using SiteSell’s SBI!*):
- My SelfHelpCollective.com site is… a guru-free self-help site
- And in this inspirational quote Galileo advocates a guru-free approach to life, or rather the notion that YOU are your own guru!…
And I’d never really thought about this idea before reading his quotation.
And I never really knew I had a problem with gurus – self-help gurus, to be specific – until I decided to create my own self-help site.
I discovered that I didn’t particularly like some clever-clogs man (or woman or person) who happened to have sorted his (or her or their) life out telling me that “it works for me, so it will work for you”.
I discovered that I believed this to be false and unwise at best, and arrogance at worst. How can anyone know the truth for anyone OTHER THAN for themselves?
Hence the collective wisdom of Self Help Collective came about. After all, wherever we find ourselves in life, we all know something that others can benefit from, and we can all benefit from others’ wisdom and experience too.
Just as long as, at the end of the day, we trust in ourselves first.
And that’s what I think Galileo means by his famous inspirational quotation: trust in yourself!
CONCLUSION
“Learn from others, but teach yourself.”
These are my own words, my own quote, and words that I will keep referring to here on this site, or in my Deeper Delight mailing list. They are words that happen to sum up Galileo’s inspirational quote, I think. And another way of saying this, is: find out for yourself.
When you use gurus and teachers to help YOU find out for yourself, then you’re being the Prime Minister or President in charge of your life. Yes, you’re listening to the best advisors you can find, but you’re the one that ultimately gets to take the decision, you’re the one that you’re relying on – not the advisors.
What Do You Think?
But that’s what I think, how I see things. I’m curious what you might think about these words that made so much impact on me around 2008. Please reflect on this piece some more, see the truth (or otherwise) of it for yourself! Also:
- Please share any feedback you have on this piece – let me know of an early wisdom that you still treasure to this day. Thank you.
- Want more inspirational quotes?
I’ve also created a Quotes About Daily Life book and a Positive Spiritual Quotes book, as well as a daily inspirational quotes email (AND all these products at Red Bubble are quotes-inspired).
* Note: this is an affiliate link. It means that (at no extra cost to you) I may well receive a commission on any purchase you make via the link provided.