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I have always been a supporter of introspection as a form of self-realization, but I have recently come to see that is not a commonly shared view. Now, while how we identify as what "makes sense" to us most naturally is a topic for discussion in and of itself, I prefer to focus instead on the idea of teaching yourself about life through the observations of others rather than yourself.

I realize the narrowness of using my own point of view as a based of the examination of this idea, especially since I only very reluctantly admit that there might be some value in it, but I will continue nonetheless. I feel as though there is something to be said for the internal viewpoint of the common man as opposed to a permanently objective ideal state of observation. With that, I will say that I have very rarely had the pleasure of another party providing anything more than, at best, a moderately in-depth observation of personality, and never a revelation of an aspect of the unknown. I find this troubling because at some point you would expect that you would be graced with an "outside looking in" idea that would give you some perspective into your world. Naturally, a certain amount of thought goes into teaching yourself about yourself, but how much of it comes as a direct result of the input of others? More importantly, how important does the person that grants you a greater internal dialogue become, should that be the case?

I would think that if you were to spend time dedicated to the pursuit of self-realization that you would learn that you cannot know yourself very well at all until you have to come to identify with those that are around you. Oppositely, where is the line drawn between furthering your own intellectual and emotional pursuits and where you become a product of the people which which you surround yourself (for better or for worse)? Assuming that a "happy" medium can be found, as it can be in most aspects of life in general, I do wonder if there is a way of identifying it.