‘MAN’, in this context, is not a gender-based statement. It encompasses our species, written in the artistic alphabet of the wise men of Khemet, above the entrance of the teaching centres of their mystery systems; systems that the entire humankind has benefitted from.

It revolves around our value systems, personal creeds, and what we should and should not do. This includes cases enveloped by opposing circumstances where, at the moment, we sit in the gloom of darkness, and suddenly glitter tempts, and we become enveloped in the Carnival of Fools that appease for a while. But because it builds nothing that can endure, it, thus, contributes nothing to posterity, and is soon forgotten.

In Guyana, like many nations, its peoples have passed through, as a young nation, several swift eras from which we should have learnt more, but we seem content to assume that we’ll do it better now; it will work itself out without our participation through understanding what happened before. It doesn’t work like that. The past and its imprints do not easily evaporate. Let me tell a true story about an era of mixed-up moods and gambling conclusions, driven by the promising chances of the now, rather than the achieving goal of tomorrow, that intercepted and prevailed.

Once a pretty young girl was interested in becoming a nurse, and was on her way to doing so. Then, an adult male in the community took an interest in her, but she didn’t take him seriously. He visited her home and spoke to her mother. This male was part of an era unlike any other before to hit G/T, where a vibrant cultural creed and illegal hustle merged, providing hope where no such lay before to most in the population. But, of course, all involved ignored the promising time’s probable consequences.

Soon enough, gifts were bought for the home, and with the mother entrapped, she coerced her beautiful daughter. Thus, her daughter’s life changed forever. The beautiful youth was enthralled by the social trends that proposed a popular way out from obvious generational denied wants and needs. There is so much a mother in charge of many can do, I had then concluded. The presence of the male was essential. The father’s failure as the principal guardian in that nurturing period was crucial. But the young woman was strong, and she survived her trials.

‘Knowing oneself’ is not a simple boastful endeavour; it requires deep thinking towards enquiry, and not the illusion of one’s invincibility, machismo, and loudness in the face of a captive crowd. It requires one to be aware of the knowledge of the past crowd.

Every order of things has its history of loyalty, betrayals, survival justifications, amplifying treachery at different levels. Thus, ‘knowing oneself’ is indeed a private quest, because poverty intoxicates. So do greed and self-centeredness, as well as the need to address legitimate personal conditions. To learn, one must listen, with the understanding that some elders have done things to empower themselves that required betraying obvious expectations. In telling you their story, they will use fictions that are older than you, and switch events around to produce your justifying nod.

Be aware that for the ancients to arrive at a statement that defines their teachings, it must have taken centuries of learning, failures and eventual successes to compile the categories of learning what constitutes ‘knowing oneself’. Breaking this down into a functional/personal core value towards your own benefit urges you to understand the world around you. This is not a menial task; it will take time. Why do some conflicts locally and abroad exist, and how did they begin? You will have to read books, magazines, and then cross-read the subject. Spend some time at the library; check out secondhand book stands.

They will surprise you. You can’t imagine the speed at which some relatives are apt to sell the books of some studious citizens as fast as they depart this world. It’s a fact that there are far more empty kettles than those with life-saving ‘Bush Tea’.
It is not even because people don’t know; some don’t care to know. They try to convey their views by repeating titbits of information heard. It’s not a perfect world. If you can’t read, please learn. Be able to read what you’re signing for. Fatal conflicts have emerged because the victim did not ‘know themself’.