Wisdom is the capability of the mind to draw sufficient
conclusions from insufficient premises. We never have sufficient data for
anything and everything because we are all limited in our capability in
acquiring our knowledge.
Wisdom is not quite the same as knowledge: knowledge is
the acquisition of facts and information, while wisdom is the application of
acquired knowledge to everyday life and living. For this reason, being
knowledgeable does not necessarily imply being wise. Wisdom is beyond knowledge.
Human Wisdom
Socrates, the famous Greek philosopher, once said: “An
unexamined life is not worth living.”
Wisdom is
examining life by frequently asking self-intuitive questions, as well as by finding
answers to the questions asked about life and living. In real life, we must
frequently ask ourselves many questions about anything and everything at all
times.
Asking relevant questions is introspection,
which is a continual process of self-reflection, without which there is no
self-awareness and hence no personal growth and development. A static life is
never a life well lived. So, asking self-intuitive questions is self-empowering
wisdom—a life-skill tool necessary for the art of living well.
Why is that?
It is because the kind of
questions you ask also determines the kind of life you are going to live. Your
questions often trigger a set of mental answers, which may lead to actions or
inactions, based on the choices you have made from the answers you have
obtained. Remember, your life is always the sum of all the choices you make in
the process of going through your life journey.
To make the right daily life
choices, you need human wisdom, which is clarity of thinking, to know who you really are, what choices are available to you, and why you decide on those choices.
TAO Wisdom
TAO is the profound human
wisdom of Lao Tzu, the ancient sage
from China
Spiritual Wisdom
Empower your mind with human wisdom to see things as what
they really are, instead of as what they are supposed to be or what you wish
they were. Before that could happen, however, you must know your real self first, that is, who you really are, and
not your ego-self.
True human wisdom is not easy to attain or come by,
especially living in this material world, which is a toxic environment. Living
in a toxic environment, the human body may easily become contaminated, and thus
ultimately infesting the human mind as well, given that the human body and the
human mind are somehow interconnected.
An infested human mind often leads to distorted thinking—and
that is where spiritual wisdom may
play a pivotal role by giving the mind guidance, instruction, and supervision.
Ask yourself this
thinking question: Do I have a soul or spirit?
If you do not
totally live in your body, you do have a soul or spirit. If you do not
totally focus on self, you may then
also have a glimpse of your soul or spirit.
The next thinking
question to ask yourself: What is my soul or spirit?
If you believe in
God, your soul is your spiritual connection and communication with Him in the form of your daily prayers, moments
of self-awakening, and occasional divine guidance and inspiration from Him.
If you do not have
a specific religion, but still believe in the control of a Being greater than
yourself, your soul or spirit is your understanding of the unexplainable
control and the natural cycle of all things—that is, certain things in life are
beyond human control, and certain things follow a natural cycle or order, such
as the cycle of the four seasons, and that life is inevitably followed by
death.
If you are a
non-believer, but still a decent human being, your soul or spirit is your conscience,
which intuitively tells you what is right and wrong, and not just merely
following the law and order of your country.
Therefore, in several
different ways, we may all have a
soul or spirit of some sort, although some of us may separate ourselves from
it, either consciously or unconsciously. The soul or spirit is like a shadow of
ourselves: sometimes we see more of it, and other times we see less of it, but it
is always part and parcel of us, following us wherever we go like a shadow,
whether we like it or not.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by
Stephen Lau
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