We Do Not Receive Wisdom-Daily Meditation 12.15.22
Today’s quotation:
We do not receive wisdom–we must discover it for ourselves after a journey through the wilderness which no one else can make for us, which no one can spare us, for our wisdom is the point of view from which we come at last to regard the world.-Marcel Proust
Today’s Meditation:
I’m always amazed at how many wise words I read, only to go out and commit very unwise actions reasonably regularly. My attempts to develop my knowledge from the gathered knowledge of other people are only somewhat successful. Sometimes, I do something quite silly even after being exposed to possible actions that would have been much wiser.
And I don’t say this to criticize myself but to act as an observer of my actions. I’ve come to find that Marcel is right–I do have to discover, or perhaps uncover, wisdom for myself. I think that the readings that I do help me build a base from which I can recognize and accept my wisdom much more readily and quickly. Still, the bottom line is that I uncover my wisdom in my journey through the wilderness, my trials, and the obstacles I overcome.
As time goes on, I’m also much more in tune with Marcel’s last line, that my perspective of the world is a result, or a reflection of, the wisdom built up inside me. My wisdom helps me to refrain from judging, to see the beauty even in what seems not to be beautiful, and to feel the love and sincerity from sources that seem to have none. My wisdom allows me to balance and equanimity, from which I can experience the world in more prosperous and fuller ways.
We must not be discouraged if building our wisdom is slower than we feel it should be. I can build knowledge simply by reading, but my wisdom is more profound and must be built more slowly and carefully through experience.
Questions to consider:
In which ways do you tend to grow in wisdom?
Why is it tempting to feel that we can “receive” wisdom?
How would you describe the “point of view from which you regard the world”?
For further thought:
Wisdom is not to be obtained from textbooks but must be coined from human experience in the flame of life.-Morris Raphael Cohen
