Get smart? Pursue true life wisdom!
“Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning.” (Proverbs: 8,9)
This famous passage, from the ancient Book of Proverbs in the Bible, sings the praises of knowledge and wisdom in words that still touch the heart today. For me, it says this:
Better a simple, honest and beautiful guy, than a rich guy who’s superficial and selfish.
Your awesome gift of intelligence
Knowledge and wisdom are truly desirable goals, and utterly worthwhile for any man, woman or child. One of your greatest gifts is intelligence:
You can think, reason, study, analyze, interpret, remember, and communicate about everything that you receive from your senses. You can accumulate knowledge; but even that’s not enough.
Why? Because you also need wisdom.
Wisdom: your rock-solid foundation
What exactly then is wisdom? Wisdom is simply the practical and effective use of knowledge in order to manage life’s challenges. Knowing what to do with your knowledge and information.
Above all, it’s through wisdom that you grow and evolve as a person: to become a fully rounded awesome human being, in mind, body and spirit.
It is wisdom that convinces you that life’s really all about:
- Love,
- Sharing,
- Giving,
- Friendship,
- Kindness,
- Happiness:
- Your continual growth, development and fulfillment as a person in society.
When you compare and contrast this knowledge and wisdom with the “silver, rubies and gold” of the quotation, then you realize that they really are meaningless lumps of metal and earth.
Wisdom: your personal life coach
- Wisdom gives you insight: it helps you to discern what is true, right and just.
- It helps you fashion your deepest beliefs and values.
- It gives you some idea of why you’re here at all, what life’s really all about.
Wisdom set you apart from the whole of the animal kingdom, surviving simply on instincts. You’re not just a body and brain like an animal.
We humans have spirit and soul, that enables us to evolve a million times more than the animals.
So why not live according to this gift of knowledge and wisdom?
Why descend to the level of animals? Indeed some humans act in such a depraved manner that even the animals would look the other way.
So, keep learning and growing, spearheading your own evolution towards success, happiness and contribution to others.
Wisdom: your key to human progress
What are those necessary areas of your life that could benefit from further learning, knowledge and wisdom?
Important areas like career, work, family, relationships.
Start asking yourself all these extremely powerful “what-if?” questions. Your work and career for example:
- What if you took a few courses and got promotion at work?
- What if you learned all about another kind of job.
- What if you switched to a different kind of work, that you’d enjoy much better?
This kind of questioning could totally transform your life in knowledge and wisdom.
Just think: You could examine, understand and then overcome countless deep-seated issues that affect us all. Things like
- Negativity,
- Self-doubt,
- Irrational fears,
- Settling for a mediocre life-style,
- Laziness; and so on.
Wisdom: your inner journey
That’s the magic of that inner journey into your deepest soul, where you discover the depths of who and what you are. This is the greatest wisdom there is.
As the wise saying has it: “self-knowledge is the beginning of wisdom.”
Gerry McCann, The Merry Monk
