Wisdom
Legacy Name: Magess

Quotes

Wisdom

They always felt comfy talking to me. "Maya", they'd say, "how'd you get to be so clever?". This always perplexed me some when I was young. All I did was listen. I liked hearing peoples stories. What they had done and especially WHY they had done it. People do things for so many different reasons, and justify it in so many ways.

When they asked for advice I'd usually say whatever felt right at the time. Usually it was something they had told me, but hadn't realised what it meant. Often repeating their words in a different way or context would make their face light up as though I had said something profound.

chuckles

We can all be so blind. Most especially to ourselves. Being willing to look into your own heart and mind is the most frightening, and the most rewarding, journey in life. It hurts, and seeing your actions or words that hurt others from their point of view feels horrible. But learning about yourself, figuring out why things were said or done on your part, can help you to learn how not to repeat those mistakes. To realise when you start thinking a certain way, it's a warning you need to heed, to avoid repeating past errors. Over time it gets easier until it's automatic.

Oh listen to me blather on. Since I was a young girl, I have pursued Wisdom. Not knowledge, as any piece of paper can provide that. It seems that wisdom has it's own formula.

Knowledge + Experience + Reflection + Empathy = Wisdom

It's not a die hard accurate equation, probably. I came up with it myself, so who knows if it's true. While they call me the Town Wisdom, I often doubt I deserve the title. I mean, Socrates was right. The more I learn, the more I realise I know almost nothing. Because the more questions I answer, the more are created. When you learn of one thing, it is connected to so many others, and it seems so utterly vast, that there is far, far more to learn than there are stars in the night sky. No one person could possibly learn everything about even one topic, let alone all the delightful things in our universe.

Just between you and me, that's why you'll often see me try not to giggle when some hot heat thinks they know everything. They sound so pretentous when you know, without a shadow of a doubt, they cannot know everything about the subject. In fact, the people I have found most knowledgable about things are the least pretentous.

But be aware of how you treat other people. I do try not to laugh when others are silly, unless that was their intent. Most people are walking around and interacting with masks on. A mask is an image of what you want the world to see. Or what you think the world wants to see. I remember as a teenager, thinking of all the different masks I used to wear. One for family, one for teachers, one for my friends, and more. The older I got, the more I have tried to retire all of them, so that I am myself. Nothing more, nothing less. It's a lot more difficult than it sounds. But then again, my memory is now such that it's good to have less to remember!

How Do I Get To Be Wise?

- Travel as much as you can. See how other people live. What they have to deal with daily. Try to imagine what that would be like if you had to live that way. It's easy to get into the mindset that the way we live is the "best" way. We're usually wrong!

- Read everything you want to. Fiction, non fiction, biographies, short stories and great sweeping sagas. Umberto Eco said “The person who doesn’t read lives only one life. The reader lives 5,000.” This includes reading articles online, scientific studies, finding out about subjects and hobbies, or reading a comic book.

- Always keep learning. This is related to the reading everything and travel points. In this point in history there has never been an easier way to access information via the internet. Read first person accounts of events. Find and use accurate and factual information on all different aspects of life, on bigotry, on what it is like to live life in a culture/family/country different from yourself. Learn the difference between love and hatred, and how each affects lives. - Reflect upon yourself. On things of importance to you. On mistakes you never want to repeat. What made you think you had to do or say that? What made you think you needed to? When did you decide that? At what age? Whose voice is saying "you should..."? Many things are fixed from childhood and it is up to us as adults to change what we do not wish to accept. To become the best person we can be.

- When you see people going through something, think of how you would feel in that situation. In that place. What emotions would you feel? What thoughts would go around in your mind? What do you think you would do or how would you react? Listen to them. We all want to be heard.