The knowledge scientists have accumulated over the centuries has helped us to understand our world. We owe a lot of what we know about nature to science, and knowledge is power. But knowledge alone isn’t enough: wisdom is also necessary for getting by in life.
Wisdom provides people with the insight they need to live well in this complex world. Science can provide explanations for how things work in the world, while wisdom helps us to deal with the complexities of life. Both science and wisdom are important in helping us to understand and navigate the world around us.
If we look at wisdom as the application of knowledge it starts to make sense. Knowing that a tomato is a fruit is knowledge. Knowing not to put it into a fruit salad is wisdom.
I often write about how our actions are often guided by our thoughts and feelings. If we are wise to our emotions we can use them to bring about the right actions.
We can use science to figure out why we are emotional. Are there certain people, places, or things that lead to an emotional response? Does being in a particular place make our minds recall previous events? I think it does.
I have memories of both good and bad times with people. I can remember the joy of a newborn baby becoming part of the family and also the sadness at a funeral.
Sharing those events made me emotionally closer to them. We were there to celebrate and to commiserate.
How does this tie in with wisdom?
Being wise allows us to look beyond those emotional highs and lows. It allows us to see the “bigger picture”. Wisdom gives us the knowledge of experience along with how to apply that knowledge.
Science has allowed us to move around in cars and on motorbikes. The development of safer and more reliable transport has given us the ability to spend more time seeing people and enjoying life, than being stuck tinkering with a faulty fuel carburetor.
Just because the bike is there, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to commute to work on it.
The wisdom is knowing that it’s a bad decision to ride a motorbike when the roads are slippery and to take the bus instead.
How did I learn this? One, it was suggested by older and more experienced members of my family that it would be a bad idea. Secondly, I went and did it anyway, dropped the bike while driving into a petrol station and learned from my mistake.
We’d shared good times, and bad times and also the knowledge that motorbkes and ice don’t mix. I needed those emotional bonds to be built so that the wise bonds would be there when I needed them.
Wisdom takes time to grow and to bear fruit.
Science never stops looking for answers. At any point in time, our scientific knowledge is always the best that we have at that moment. It is based on what we’ve learned, tested, kept and discarded.
Wisdom needs ongoing research too. To become wise, I have to make mistakes. To find wisdom I have to search for it and work towards it. Sitting back and reading a lot of books doesn’t work. Wisdom is born out of action.
When we make a mistake, we learn from it. Mistakes are actions that didn’t have the intended result. We figure out what went wrong and how we can avoid making the same mistake again. We may be able to figure it out for ourselves. More often than not, encouragement and assistance from others helps us on our journey. This is a process that helps us to learn and grow wiser. Wisdom gets passed down from the more experienced to the less experienced.
Experience is another key ingredient in the recipe for wisdom. The more experiences we have, the more knowledge we gain. And the more knowledge we have, the wiser we become. We learn from our own experiences, as well as from the experiences of others.
Emotions can lead to wisdom too
I think that we all need to release our feelings at times. An emotional release; either great joy or the pain of losing a job needs to be acknowledged and allowed to leave the body.
I bottled up a lot of things to appear strong in front of others. That only created a burden that I carried for far too long. What I needed to do was change the emotional into something physical. I needed action to release the inner turmoil.
There is wisdom in this. Once the resentment and frustrations had been turned into hot burning tears and a few shouty moments, I had an awakening. The pain had been let out.
By unblocking the channel to my wise mind, I had flushed away the hurt. It made space for calm, serenity, and acceptance.
What about high, happy feelings? Yes, they get let out too. What I don’t do is keep chasing that emotional summit. The joy of a team winning a sporting competition is short-lived, and for some people, they need to keep trying to reach that zenith of happiness.
Here’s the problem… they are depending on the success of others to achieve happiness. What happens on the sports field or the racetrack is not of my doing. I am not in control of, nor responsible for the result.
I raise my arm in a salute, applaud and I cheer on successes. I let it out, celebrate and then I let my mind return to its tranquil state. I don’t go chasing other people’s victories to make myself happy.
Wisdom isn’t something that comes easy – it takes time and effort to acquire it. To become good at something, we need to practice it. Wisdom is a skill, and like winning a world cup, it’s not going to happen just by stepping onto the pitch. It needs focus, a willingness to learn, and a willingness to practice.
By following a wise path, I become better at managing and organising my life. The path is not one of my making. It is already there and has been created by the collective thoughts and actions of many millions of people that have gone before me.
The thoughts and actions that I write about here are just part of my journey towards wisdom. Do I know everything? Absolutely not. I am a “work in progress”. I’ll keep taking steps forward and maybe, just maybe I’ll find the wisdom that I need.
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All the best!
Matt The Happy Human