There is a saying that says "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and although there are some objections about whether beauty is really subjective or not, today I will not talk about it, maybe another day. Today I will talk about wisdom. Because, I think that wisdom is in the mind of the beholder. And let me explain, because, one thing I've come to realize is that the wiser a person is, the more likely this person is to find wisdom in everything he observe. A wise person can see or read nonsense, and draw wisdom from it. But, on the contrary, a foolish person can see something wise and yet learn nothing from it, or learn pure nonsense. Where is the wisdom then? Wisdom is not in the things you do, think, or experience, there is no book you can read to become wise, wisdom is in the mind of the wise, it is in the way that person sees things, because it is because his own inner wisdom by which a sage can see wisdom in all things. A sage is a person capable of seeing wisdom in everything.
Two people can listen to the same speech, read the same book, or watch the same video, and one of them draw totally absurd conclusions, while on the other hand the other reaches extraordinary conclusions. Are their conclusions a consequence of what they saw or heard? If so, why did they conclude two different things? It is because, despite apparently seeing or hearing the same thing, they were, in fact, perceiving different things. They did not notice the same things and they did not pay attention to the same things, for practical purposes, they were seeing two totally different things. This is the way in which the observer changes the observed. The wiser a person is, the more capable he or she is to grasp all the subtleties, and to transcend appearances to what is truly deep and meaningful. A wise man and a fool can experience the same things, and still live two completely different lives, because they will both be perceiving a world that is fundamentally different.
So, wisdom is in the mind of the beholder because a sage can see wisdom in all things. As long as one is willing to learn, one can do it of all things, it does not matter if that thing is superfluous or banal, or if it is insignificant, because something can always be learned. Even from lies, from falsehood, from ignorance, something can be learned. You can actually learn something from foolishness, and thus see wisdom in the fool. Many people, sometimes, hear someone saying something that they don't like, that is contrary to what they think, that it seems false and silly, and then they cover their ears. But maybe that is not the best, maybe there is something that can be learned from such people even when what they say may be false, even then, there is wisdom there if we are willing to look at it.
There is wisdom in all things, there is wisdom in all people, that is not to be questioned. What we must ask ourselves is, are we capable of seeing it?
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a quote comes to mind that Alan Watts cites often: "A fool who persist in his folly will become wise."
Wisdom seems to also stem from having glanced an interconnection of seemingly separate things and people (or aspects of the totality). From an experiential grasping of the unity of all things comes a deep appreciation for all its various manifestations, forms and ways. I have found that seemingly "simple" people can be way wiser than many studied people I have met who have university degrees. Simply because many simple people are more connected to their faith, to their own awareness and their immediate surroundings, where as many studied people have learned by heart a way of interpreting everything in a way that someone else has taught them.
Wisdom really is priceless. A great read as always, thanks!
Yes, that's something I've thought about a couple of times, that in order to have wisdom, it's kind of necessary that you do some folly things first. Saint Augustine had a paradox about wisdom in which he wondered, how is it possible for someone to go from foolishness to wisdom? If he does foolish things hoping to become wise, then, or those foolish things will not make him wise, because they are foolish, and if they make him wise, then what he does is not foolish, and therefore, he is not foolish. I am paraphrasing.
What I have come to learn is that there is no one who is completely wise and no one who is completely foolish. They all do wise things sometimes, and foolish things other times. We are usually somewhere between the two. Even the wisest people, I think, do foolish things from time to time. And even the foolish person do things that can be wise or smart at times.
Agree.
I have also reached the same conclusion, and I tend to think that there are many forms of ignorance, knowing too much is also one of them.
And thanks to you! Cheers.
as wise as i sometimes feel, i just as much feel like the biggest fool at other times. hehe. long road to wisdom
Me too... haha.
See ya.
Some might say that the entire universe is in the mind of the beholder.
Regardless, wisdom is indeed elusive from my estimation.
Nice post.
Yeah, although that could be interpreted as solipsism. Although I agree with saying that much of what we believe the universe to be, it really is simply our perception, and not the universe itself.
Thanks!
HIVE!D
Thanks!
Of course ! Appreciate the Engagement.
Lol... interesting stuff. Off-topic but interesting. :)