Wisdom
The following are some thoughts I shared in a note to my son…
You once told me that you seek wisdom. I think you might have said, “I want to be wise.”
I don’t remember if I said anything in response, but seem to remember thinking to myself that there is no higher aspiration. In my mind there is nothing else to aspire to. The very essence of aspiration itself is wisdom.
You can search the world and meet many people, but you will never find anyone wiser than yourself. This may sound strange but it is true. For whomever you meet and whatever they say or do that you learn from, you will always be learning something about yourself. And you are the one who is the gate keeper for what you are learning. You choose from your experiences what you want to accept and how you want to grow your understanding of yourself from those experiences.
How will you know when you learn something from someone “wise”? You will need to test it with your own understanding, your own wisdom.
If you want to be truly wise, explore your self. Get to know yourself.
Here’s a hint. Pay attention to your own breath as it comes into you and then leaves again. What does each breath give you in coming in? What does each outgoing breath take with it? Consider your life and the simple experience of the beauty of being. The wonder. And, feel the gratitude of just being alive.
You will find the wisdom you seek inside yourself.
Enjoy the joy of it!
october 2021
