FROM KNOWLEDGE TO WISDOM
Date: 
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Teacher(s): 

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom.  With all your quest for knowledge, get understanding.  Exalt wisdom and she will promote you.  She will bring you to honor if you will but embrace her.”  [UB 133:9:3]

Thought Adjuster: “What stands out historically? There is a multitude of memorable events—both at the individual and societal level. Some were traumatic, while others were celebratory. Since your planet is still spinning on its axis following its preordained spatial trajectory, humankind made it through so far.  

Because of the immutable law of cause and effect, one can draw educational lessons by retracing the outcomes back to their origin. Are these turns of events applaudable or regrettable? Were they triggered by the right stimuli or by thoughtless demeanors? Can a ‘fait accompli’ be undone to change the course of history?

Many of you have diligently acquired intellectual knowledge—sometimes through a mindless repetitive process rather than by organic and intelligent assimilation of its truthful elements.  

Learning by rote is unproductive, as the brain is quite complacent in such a process. Even though it may earn you an A+ in a quiz, it may come short in equipping you to lead a life of excellence if you unselectively feed your grey matter.  

If truth is not validated experimentally and experientially, knowledge is questionable. Truth is factual. It blows out of the water gossip, rumors, and unfounded opinions. Thankfully, truth finds its telltale resonance in your inner world. “It rings true.” Its identification is liberating and energizing, as it delivers a message of hope to the truth finder.  

Philosophers debate truth, expanding upon it, and extracting wisdom. By definition, “wisdom, sapience, or sagacity is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense and insight. Wisdom is associated with attributes such as unbiased judgment, compassion, experiential self-knowledge, self-transcendence and non-attachment, and virtues such as ethics and benevolence.” 

Wisdom is the elixir extracted from adequately processing the truth content of knowledge. Words of wisdom survive the generational gaps. They do not depreciate.

Live productively by harvesting many shining pearls of wisdom, and stinging them in a beautiful chain of unbroken custody.”