Wisdom

I have been off the radar for a bit for which I apologise but even though I have been unable to write, I have been following your comments, dear readers.

One of my friend-followers had commented in my I AM… blogs that she resonates with Bruce Lee’s advice “Be like water”, so she went with “I AM Water”. I found that really interesting, first because of the idea itself, to flow like water, but also because she had used a noun, representing a thing (water, in this case), instead of an abstract noun (Curiosity) that can be interchanged with an adjective (curious), like I have been doing.

So for her, W would definitely be I AM Water. What about you?

As for me, I have gone with Wisdom to keep to my pattern. I AM wisdom. I AM wise. Why, you might ask?

I could say that as I enter another milestone decade this year, wisdom automatically comes with age. Or does it? For I was surprised to learn that according to research, overall old age does not seem to be necessary or sufficient for wisdom—what matters more may be the motivation to pursue its development. (I might also add that I know of several millennials who are wise beyond their age).

Thus one of my reasons to choose W for Wisdom—I am “motivated to pursue its development”.

I do think my life experiences have taught me a lot, the pivotal word being ‘taught’ because “wisdom is acquired only by learning from experience”. Wisdom largely emerges from reflection on past experiences. But I am still repeating some mistakes which by now I should have learnt not to, especially in certain areas of my life, and so ‘learning from experience’, and then applying the wisdom is an on-going lesson for me.

I also feel that I have picked up a lot of universal truths through reading and listening to motivational talks. But once again, knowledge is not sufficient for wisdom. I think one needs to experience the truth for oneself and only then can one own it as a personal ‘knowing’. For example, it is a universal truth that the only person one can change is oneself. Some may accept this blindly but others fall into the trap of trying to change others. It is only after you have tried changing others and hit against walls countless times, will you then maybe be more open to and accepting of this ‘truth’, this wisdom. I have a long way to go in taking on board and practising what I read.

Another reason the quality of Wisdom resonates with me is because I understand that wisdom is inherent in us. And the reason I believe it is because I have experienced it for myself. I used to be a very self-reliant youngster, not needing to share my personal dramas with people. But the king of all dramas changed me and I started needing to talk to friends and ask for their advice. Not that that was a problem because when I opened up I became closer to a few friends. But I still did not feel very comfortable. Then many years down the road, when I took up meditation and ‘learnt’ that the answer is within if you only sit in silence and listen, and when I put that into practice and experienced the results for myself did I then truly understand what that meant:

“Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” Francis Bacon

So now I need to keep reminding myself to quieten my mind and go within to find my answers.

In some ways it is like going with your gut. I’m sure you can relate to the experience of having butterflies in your stomach, or to a gut-wrenching feeling. How often are we told not to ignore our “gut-instinct” or “gut-feeling” when making a decision. Yet so often when we are not open and do not listen, we ignore our intuition. Today, research shows how closely our gut and brain are connected, so closely that the gut is now called our second brain.

The key is to listen.

“Wisdom is understood by your heart and you learn by listening to it.”

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