A drop of wisdom for the thirsty fool in all of us
I've always been the kind to doubt first, ask questions later. Especially when it comes to so-called 'received wisdom'.
Take for instance the saying that wisdom comes with age. To me, this is to assume that most people are of a reasonable level of intelligence and therefore, mentally equipped to make use of life's successes and failures alike.
Suffice to say, this is making a huge, broad-sweeping assumption, and if my observations and experiences are anything to go, also quite wrong.
Instead, consider following:
Wisdom does not come with age, or long life. Age merely makes wisdom achievable.
If you live a long but meritless life, then age without wisdom is but a tall, almost empty glass.
Therefore, wisdom is a relatively tall glass very nearly full...
posted by Wayne Smallman at Thursday, February 03, 2005
5 Comments:
Dalai Lama?
Didn't he play for Real Madrid in seventies?
I can assure you, all ramblings, rants and ruminations are my own.
I look at it this way: if you can think it yourself, you'll never truly understand it.
Now that's enough truisms for one afternoon .. work beckons...
Darren said today, that over the years he'd tended to pack his bags (literally) lighter. From the way he wrote that, one could read that as if that -'had just come to his attention', and nothing more about that, --assumably.
Naturally, after years of travel, and numerous hotel visits, you calibrate whatever you do, likewise whatever you think; ofcourse things will change, as a result of 'experience'.
..I think that's how it is. -You evolve based on the shit that happens, and the senses you absorb, and that's all there is. I'm of the sincere belief that anything extraneous to this, is merely "filler"..
Part of the key to unlocking wisdom -- which is a broad church, so let's assume wisdom simply means to be bright / smart -- is to recognize patterns in everyday life.
I'm assuming that your friend has travelled a lot. So, after years of traveling, he's now able to anticipate what he will and won't need.
Life is much like that. It's as simple as being able to anticipate something, be it something spoken, or in deed.
Wisdom is also knowing when to keep your mouth shut a listen.
Something I'm not yet accustom to .. but then I'm not nearly as wise as I'd like to think I am...
Now there's a good one to dissect.. =)
"Knowing when to shut up" is the fragment most essential to 'social engineering'; i.e. closely linked, -and interwowen-, with being a "good listener", and hierarchially extending down, --through the 'receiving and analyzing' -parts of social interaction / studying.
However, I tend to go beyond (and to the extremes) here; as I, -while keeping the 'courtesy -rules' at mind-, _overstep_ those rules, --so as to achieve more honesty in the responses, and likewise getting 'higher-priced' -information, due to catching the 2nd person 'off-guard'. The bonus is, that you have a better chance at 'bettering' yourself; as the critique from the other members of that dialogue, will followingly be more sincere [and "heart breaking"(tm)] aswell..
..But then, you also have to know when that risk should be applied, as you statistically can't allow for 'stunts' in the _most critical_ -situations.
Good read
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