Self knowledge.

These days I am wondering about self knowledge and its importance in developing my own relationship with God. What is the correlation? I looked to St. Teresa of Avila as she explains the great need for this understanding of self. I drew this connection - maybe its not that big of a jump, but here we go:

When you really get to know yourself (and I mean really know yourself), you begin to grow in humility. I think one must know God for one to really even grasp at knowing oneself and understanding one's place in the world. It seems the longer you know God in an intimate, relational way, the more you find out how much distance there is between yourself and his perfection. From this, one can fall into another fault (which is something I fall into): self-destruction. True humility is not self-deprecation but understanding that your relationship with God is of dependence and worth. We know that it's a whole lot easier to tell someone what you're not good at or where your faults lie, and not the opposite.

What are your good qualities that set you apart from others or that make you you? How much does this understanding of yourself matter? It matters indeed, and it makes a world of a difference.