I agree with Socrates when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I know things to be true for myself because I have lived them. It has been through self-examination that I have achieved a certain peace of mind, and, like Socrates, I find the older I get, the less I know. To admit this is to surrender. As Deepak Chopra puts it, “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 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 held no regard for Socrates. The peace of mind he held, by living his life with purpose, made his life worth living. Integrity, humility, and dignity were all values he lived by. To admit that he knew nothing gave him the freedom to ask questions that another man might be embarrassed to ask. Socrates sought out men that were his intellectual match and beyond. He would ask them hard questions, which shook their very foundation.

His goal of revealing the truth was more important than hurting the pride of these respected figures. He was accosting them their own good. Who would want to live a life of shadows and half-truths? Socrates felt he owed these scholarly men. Doing this gave him the satisfaction of seeing himself through God’s eyes. He was, after all, here to do God’s work.

Socrates would have been a huge proponent of the saying, “Question Authority.” If this philosopher had owed a car (or a bus), I feel certain he would have had it plastered with bumper stickers brandishing this rebellious saying.

Unfortunately, Socrates lived in a time when questioning authority paid a heavy price. No matter, this seeker of truth stuck to his values to the end. He never gave into admitting that he did anything wrong. His integrity would not allow him to. He always stood by the claim that he did not “know” anything. In this, his humility was transparent. And he did get the judges to hear him out, 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 that listened to him. But, in his heart and mind, he prevailed – because 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 tells it, “Getting close to God through a true knowing 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 Doctor, and serves as CEO and founder of the Chopra Center of Well Being in La Jolla, California.

In his daily life, Chopra sometimes switches from a sympathetic listener to a kind of counselor or trusted advisor. He says, “I only want to open the way to insight, acting as its midwife; it is up to every person to actually give birth.” In this way, he is like Socrates – he helps individuals discover the truth for themselves.

Deepak Chopra symbolizes the man of compassion going after the lost souls in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In the practical world, it is the people who come to him (as they know of his reputation). In Chopra’s book, The Path to Love, he talked of a woman who came to see him looking for help. Nina, a very “together” businesswoman was having a hard time with her relationships with men. When Chopra asked her to be still and to express what she was really feeling, she relaxed and became vulnerable. She became embarrassed, thinking she was a mess, but Chopra soothed her with these wise words: “We can all be wounded, everyone of us. The 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 everything is a mere illusion. Just when you uncover a 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 conclude then 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 gain insight into what makes life worth living. I am constantly fighting with the shadow side of myself. I feel remorse for inappropriate actions I have taken in the past, but have allowed forgiveness to become a healing force so that I am able move forward. I always get a clear response from my gut – we all have it available to us (our inner source) if we listen. It is in the quiet times that God speaks to us.

I also gain strength from reading inspirational books, like Chopra’s, The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. This book tells how we can live our lives to their highest potential. Where you are at this moment, is a reflection of the choices you have made in your life. So, if you are unhappy with what is before you, do something different, choose a different thought – act differently. The biggest change can come from the simplest implementation.

I’m not proud of some things I have done in my past, but I am grateful for the courage to trust in the goodness in the world. I am also thankful to realize that no matter what life throws at me I can handle it. I believe that 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 that puts me in places I feel comfortable being in. It also seems to surround me 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. To live the unexamined life is tantamount 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 shadow side of your life. You become a fraud – either laden with guilt, or simply void of conscience. You tend to build a shell around you, as Chopra eluded to earlier. The harder the shell becomes, the harder it is to penetrate.

But, the rewards of having friends who really know the real you – and they 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, you put yourself in a position to cast out shadows of souls living in the darkness.