Invariable Mark of Wisdom-Daily Meditation July 27, 2022
Today’s quotation:
The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common.-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Today’s Meditation:
If I could continue to gain anything in life, all through my life, it would be wise. After all, wisdom is an attribute that can help me to live my life better, be more helpful to others, and enjoy this experience of life more. And one of the most important elements of wisdom, I believe, is that with it, we no longer can take life for granted. We no longer can look at things as “ordinary” or even “boring.” Wisdom tells me that every single thing in my life has a purpose and a specialness that is there for me to love and appreciate, even if I don’t usually recognize it.
Wisdom tells me that many things in this world–no matter how ordinary they may seem–have special importance and significance and that I grow poorer when I’m no longer able to see that. When I can’t see just how miraculous this world is, and just how miraculous the common things are, then I grow poorer.
If there’s a bush in our yard, most of us stop seeing it after a while, noticing it only when it’s covered with flowers or buds in the spring, or when its leaves have turned in the fall. And if it doesn’t flower or if its leaves don’t turn, it’s easy just to forget it completely. Yet that bush is a living thing, full of life and supporting all sorts of other living things. It’s producing oxygen that helps us to survive. It’s common and ordinary, but it’s miraculous. The books we read, the Internet we surf, the computers we use, the cars we drive–all are miraculous inventions that we tend to take for granted.
With wisdom comes recognition of the beauty and specialness of all people, and all things. That recognition can help me to live a more complete life based on awareness of the amazing blessings that are all around me. If I want to live my life fully, then I must be aware of just how full my life already is.
Questions to consider:
What kinds of “common” things do you see as “miraculous”?
How might we help ourselves to grow in wisdom?
What’s the difference between knowledge and wisdom?
For further thought:
Only the wise person draws from life, and from every stage of it, its true savor because only he or she feels the beauty, the dignity, and the value of life. The flowers of youth may fade, but the summer, the autumn, and even the winter of human existence have their majestic grandeur, which the wise person recognizes and glorifies.-Amiel
