pjthompson | Entries tagged with wisdom

Random quote of the day:

“What everyone ignores—that's where wisdom lies.”

—Peter Kingsley, In the Dark Places of Wisdom

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Bert and Ernie, Celine Dion, or the Band of the Coldstream Guards. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Random quote of the day:

“It's such a perfect arrangement for wisdom to hide away in death. Everyone runs from death so everyone runs away from wisdom, except for those who are willing to pay the price and go against the stream.”

—Peter Kingsley, In the Dark Places of Wisdom

Random quote of the day:

“Wisdom sits in places.”

—Apache proverb

I've been slowly going through old paper journals to purge the more embarrassing entries. This is quite a masochistic practice so I can only do it a little bit at a time. Although I don't want to completely throw these journals—they are a record of my life—I don't want some of that crap to live on. The whiny bits. The rune/Tarot readings with whiny questions. The really, really bad poetry.

So I came across an idea and outlines from a 1991 journal re: a novel I had wanted to write about The Crone and had myself a good laugh. As if I had a clue. I still don't have a clue but because I realize I don't have a clue I may be further along on making something of that idea. The requisite clue isn't about wisdom, it's about knowing that you don't have wisdom, just the accumulation of experience, and that anyone who claims to be wise probably isn't.

But this was also an illustration of how some ideas can be worked with almost immediately but others have very long gestations. I once heard Louise Erdrich talking about this in an interview, how sometimes she won’t be able to work on an idea until twenty years down the line because when she got the original idea she wasn’t yet ready for it. I thought I understood at the time, but I really understand it now. (Or, maybe, I just have the illusion of understanding.)

I may be able to write this idea now. I've been poking at a new form of it recently and it actually seems to be moving. We'll see. It's nice to be writing but I do wish one of these competing ideas would gel so that I’m not constantly circling and not making real progress. Survival of the fittest when it comes to competing ideas. Being ready to write them. This crone seems to be the one with the most juice. Crone willing, she’ll win the race.

Like I said, we'll see.

Random quote of the day:

“All of us yearn for the highest wisdom, but we have to rely on ourselves in the end.”

—Czeslaw Milosz, The Paris Review, Issue 133, Winter 1994

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Desus and Mero, Beyoncé, or the Marine Corps Marching Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Random quote of the day:

“Choose your leaders
with wisdom and forethought.
To be led by a coward
is to be controlled
by all that the coward fears.
To be led by a fool
is to be led
by the opportunists
who control the fool.
To be led by a thief
is to offer up
your most precious treasures
to be stolen.
To be led by a liar
is to ask
to be told lies.
To be led by a tyrant
is to sell yourself
and those you love
into slavery.”

—Octavia Butler, Parable of the Talents

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Key and Peele, Celine Dion, or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Yesterday I did a 4-card spread, inspired by something I saw by

tjoel2. I used the Crow Tarot by MJ Cullinane, which has become the deck I feel most bonded with. The way I decided to do the spread was to ask four questions, draw a card for each and interpret each as I would in the Advice/Outcome position. I set my intentions, then asked/wrote out (my way of setting questions) two personal and two general questions. I won’t post the personal ones. Not that I’m trying to hide anything but I don’t think the world needs to read about my neurosis right now. (Although I fully admit that it’s possible my interpretations may have some of that neurosis leaking into the reading.) But I thought the other two cards might be worth sharing. These are my interpretations and I am open to hearing about others. (I am sure there will be others.) So:

Question: How will this pandemic affect the nation?

The Emperor Reversed is all about warning against arrogance, and about over-confidence getting in the way. It’s also about losing the respect that you crave. About not having wisdom, authority, and clear vision that’s needed for a successful outcome. This is about leaders needing to step up and do what’s right. Remember, I asked about the nation. And for me I think the non-emperor we’re talking about here, the one who is failing, is Donald Trump and his cadre of yes men. Individual governors and mayors are taking this seriously and stepping up to lead, but our national leadership has failed badly. The president who would be an emperor is acting as neither.

Question: Will our democracy survive?

This is about a time of quiet reflection and the passing on of knowledge. The knowledge comes from the tree of knowledge that the crow-hermit sits on; the lantern is the symbol of the wisdom needed to light the way; snowflakes represent cleansing and moving in a spiritual direction that will help fulfill the journey. We arrive at a good place by understanding how we arrived in the situation in the first place. The Hermit counsels going inward, quieting the mind, and connecting with the inner light, the light that will guide us. It still burns brightly if we allow ourselves to see it. If we listen to the guidance of our higher selves. “Remove yourself from the chatter” to receive these messages. Well, that will be a challenge in this fractured nation, but this card actually does give me hope. The bedrock of who we are, I have to believe, is still in place. Time and again, we have been challenged. It always seems to be tragedy that brings us together, to remember who we are, that deep, fundamental thing that used to be called “American exceptionalism.” Well. we haven’t been very exceptional lately and have turned our backs on the principles that made us strong. This card says to me (and maybe it’s just my ardent hope) that if we allow ourselves to remember those principles and truly live them (rather than just giving lip service), we may all pull through this and be a stronger nation on the other side of the crisis. One that has the wisdom to treat all citizens equally, knowing it makes us stronger when we do that, not weaker. A nation that truly seeks liberty and justice for all.

What do you think?

Random quote of the day:

“Human beings make meaning out of their existences. They pull purpose and direction out of their lives. Maybe that universal human tendency is based on delusion; maybe it’s based on a deeper wisdom than our conscious minds understand.”

—Christine Wicker, Lily Dale: The Town That Talks to the Dead

I was having a very interesting conversation with my friend

notasupervillain in the Comments section of my last Musings post (July 24, 2019). It grew into a post-long exchange. I have taken my part of the conversation and reproduced it here, cleaned it up, and expanded a bit. I’ve left the original exchange as is in the Dreamwidth Comments.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm not young enough to be absolutely certain I know the truth. The shades of grey multiply with each year. But that's okay. The things that are important are beyond those kinds of thought processes. We can feel around their edges, if we try real hard and remember they're always changing shape anyway.

—from my original Musings post of July 24

I've known many truths, but they keep shifting as time passes. So, I've stopped trying to hold onto them and I certainly don't try to convince anyone of their validity. Not like I used to when I was young. Whatever works for as long as it works.

This shiftingness of truth applies even to (or especially to) religious faith. I've long maintained that faith is experiential, not received wisdom. I don’t reject received wisdom out of hand—often it is quite valuable—but if all you have is that received wisdom, faith is never going to withstand the rigors of living. Once you've crossed that boundary of experience, though, faith has the ability to adapt and change. If you let it. Some people are so wedded to a single interpretation of spiritual experience they can't see beyond it and try bending all of life to their rigid mold...until it breaks. Adapt or die.

I've never been religious, but I consider myself spiritual. That spirituality is fostered and sustained by numerous experiences I’ve had that convince me there is something in the universe besides materiality. Some of these experiences I've had alone, some with others, some have been creepy, some have given me great comfort. But they are the basis of my faith.

Now, because I am who I am and always questioning, I've long-since reconciled myself to the fact that they may be illusion, "mistaken identity," brain chemistry, etc., etc. As I have more and more experiences, though, it gets harder to deny that something weird is going on. But I try to stay flexible with it, not confine it. I let it seep inside me, grow and change—I stay mindful.

If I was a strict Baptist or a Catholic, for instance (and as I understand it from some strict Baptists and Catholics of my acquaintance), I might have to consider some of these experiences as manifestations of the devil (because they believe all ghosts and other things are evil spirits trying to fool us into thinking we've been contacted by our deceased loved ones, etc., etc. ad nauseam). If I believed there was one God who was just and righteous and ruled over everything, I might ask myself, "So why did He allow the Holocaust to happen?" and it might shatter (or at least erode) my faith.

But the one thing that I know absolutely is that I don't know what rules the universe. It may be nothing, it may be a lot of somethings, it may be one something in many aspects, it may be something I can't even conceive of in with my limited human POV. I don't even know if it's a just universe. I know what I feel and what I've come to believe, but that hardly constitutes proof that someone else can take to the bank of faith. All I can really count on are my experiences, not the received wisdom of a religion or religions—which are always filtered through limited human perception anyway. That wisdom may point me down a path, but I am always going to have to be the one who walks that path and decides for myself what I see. Those experiences are not something you can hand off to someone and say, "Here, this happened to me so you should believe as I do." If they haven’t had their own experiences, it’s not going to stick. But that hasn't stopped many people trying to do just that through the centuries.

I know that I do not know, and I have my experiences, which allow me to feel comforted—if not always comfortable—in the midst of a vast uncertainty. They allow me to adapt and change, and to keep seeking answers, following paths, being surprised when new things occur to me that I hadn't considered before, and moving forward.

Random quote of the day:

“A little nonsense now and then, is cherished by the wisest men.”

—Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Lucy and Ethel, Justin Bieber, or the Kardashian Klan. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Random quote of the day:

“There is absolutely zero correlation between intelligence and wisdom.”

—Junot Diaz, interview, National Public Radio, September 11, 2012

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Random quote of the day:

“The well-bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.”

—Oscar Wilde, “Phrases and Philosophies for the Use of the Young,” The Chameleon, December 1894

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Random quote of the day:

“The past was survival of the fittest. The future will be survival of the wisest.”

—Deepak Chopra, interview, KCAL News, October 25, 2010

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this random quote of the day do not necessarily reflect the views of the poster, her immediate family, Siegfried and Roy, Leonard Maltin, or the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They do, however, sometimes reflect the views of the Cottingley Fairies.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Random quote of the day:

“I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely.”

—Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Random quote of the day:

“The wisdom of the wise, and the experience of ages, are preserved by quotation.”

—Isaac D’Israeli, Curiosities of Literature

(I just realized I used this image already last year. Sorry. No time to redo it.)

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Some people have a Hallmark view of illness and old age, an impression that illness ennobles people, that age makes them wise. In my experience, whoever you are if you get sick and when you get old is exactly who you’ve always been, only more so. The rare individual will transcend their illness and face impending death with courage and incredible grace. Most of us slide into it with whatever bag of tricks we’ve always carried: anger, fear, manipulation, martyrdom. Sometimes a sense of humor. Sometimes glimpses of grace with all the negatives combined. The individual mix is as diverse as the population of sick people.

And wisdom in old age? If you were a young person with a questing mind and a need to learn you might have a shot at gaining wisdom as you age. Most of us coast along on our longtime habits, preferring the solace of comfort to the burning quest for knowledge. The quest burns because it often isn’t comfortable and most of us don’t want to bother. So we just get older and our eccentricities and habits become more pronounced, more etched into our soul with deeper grooves. We learn a few things along the way, but we don’t necessarily gain wisdom. Who you were is who you will be. And if you think you’re wise? You probably aren’t.

It takes willpower to change that trajectory. You have to want to be more than the sum of your parts and the collection of your habits. That takes a self-awareness most of us never achieve.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

It takes willpower to change that trajectory. You have to want to be more than the sum of your parts and the collection of your habits. That takes a self-awareness most of us never achieve.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Random quote of the day:

“He that loves reading has everything within his reach. He has but to desire, and he may possess himself of every species of wisdom to judge and power to perform.”

—William Godwin, The Enquirer, Reflections on Education, Manners, and Literature. In a Series of Essays.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Random quote of the day:

“Quotations. I love them because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognizably wiser than yourself.”

—Marlene Dietrich, Marlene Dietrich’s A-B-C, 1961

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

Remembrance

Every new thing she see reminds her of the past,
or loved ones long gone, she the last of her line:
the way things used to be, how we did things then,
the funny thing her brother did, the tricks they played.

How much has changed.

A different world, consumed by history, lost
except in a few pale memories locked in spirits
headed away from Now and into the past tense.
The days wind down, grow fewer—whether
short or long we cannot say—
but not miles, not miles left to travel.

I listen for as long as I can,
stories told again and again,
trying to bear witness,
trying to let her know
someone still cares.

I try, but memories don’t get the laundry done,
the dishes put away, the dinner cooked.
The Now is relentless, unsentimental, unforgiving.

Someday you will regret not having these conversations.

Yes. Someday, someday, someday.

But for Now
I have many duties in my way
and steps or miles before that day.
Steps or miles before that day.

Mirrored from Better Than Dead.

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Echoes in a Hollow Space

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Entries tagged with wisdom

Wisdom

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Wisdom

Crone willing and if the Creek don't rise

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The shifting nature of truth and faith

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