Bird Droppings June 7, 2010
Searching for wisdom

“The awakened sages call a person wise when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about results; all his selfish desires have been consumed in the fire of knowledge. The wise, ever satisfied, have abandoned all external supports. Their security is unaffected by the results of their action; even while acting, they really do nothing at all. Free from expectations and from all sense of possession, with mind and body firmly controlled by the Self, they do not incur sin by the performance of physical action.” Bhagavad Gita 4:19-21

Wisdom is a matter of who you are with, when and how you have been told. But as I read this passage many years ago a person is wise when what you do is done without anxiety about results. We live in a competitive world today in nearly everything we do. I recall when a major news story was a leading terrorist had been killed and it was played as a trump card competitively since the gay marriage card was beaten in the Senate the day before. Today it is all about oil spills and sadly not is the hole plugged but how much are they siphoning off. I often wonder if politicians get stressed out other than when elections are at stake over what they did or did not do. I always thought of my grandmother as wise as I think back so many years she looked more towards character than deeds done by politicians.

“This we can all bear witness to, living as we do plagued by unremitting anxiety….It becomes more and more imperative that the life of the spirit be avowed as the only firm basis upon which to establish happiness and peace.” The Dalai Lama

As a society we seem to encourage anxiety and stress. Our last national government pushed to spread democracy through war which is nearly a paradox. This caused a tension and insecurity in our children according to Curriculum Theorist Henry Giroux. Is it turning to a deeper meaning a spiritual center as “the only firm base” as The Dalai Lama states.

“If I have been of service, if I have glimpsed more of the nature and essence of ultimate good, if I am inspired to reach wider horizons of thought and action, if I am at peace with myself, it has been a successful day.” Alex Noble

How many if we take this approach to life? I use often the term of being a searcher and I am honestly always searching; when I go for a walk I am observing, looking, and searching for a new flower, twig, insect, or something I have not seen before or heard. When walking in the forest I have the urge to check under rocks could be the unrelenting herpetologist in me searching for a snake or lizard. As I sit or stand in the hallway at school observing and searching faces, empathizing and trying to understand.
“To understand reality is not the same as to know about outward events. It is to perceive the essential nature of things. The best-informed man is not necessarily the wisest. Indeed there is a danger that precisely in the multiplicity of his knowledge he will lose sight of what is essential. But on the other hand, knowledge of an apparently trivial detail quite often makes it possible to see into the depth of things. And so the wise man will seek to acquire the best possible knowledge about events, but always without becoming dependent upon this knowledge. To recognize the significant in the factual is wisdom.” Dietrich Bonheoffer

I used a statement in writing one day about seeing the bubble in a thousand clear oceans just a few days back. Bonheoffer addresses that same issue here. In education it is about context not content. It is about being able to apply what knowledge we have. This can be more significant than an encyclopedia of information.

“I do not want the peace that passeth understanding. I want the understanding which bringeth peace.” Helen Keller

Many the time, I will sit and think about people I would like to meet. My biological grandfather on my mother’s side is one. Gandhi another and Ralph Waldo Emerson I tend to put down as my most favorite to meet, but if I was allowed another it would be Helen Keller. A person to overcome such insurmountable odds and to accomplish what she did is amazing and I work in a business of miracles with special needs kids. The title to the book does not do justice, “The Miracle Worker”.

“It is characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things.” Henry David Thoreau

I need to be more cautious as I write yesterday Thoreau was searching for clam rather than calm as I found a quote to add to my quote bank. Spell check does not read minds as of yet. But Thoreau eludes back to that thousand plus year old statement from the Bhagavad Gita,”when all his undertakings are free from anxiety about result.” Being wise is being in tune so to say with all around. Another way of approaching is harmony which is perhaps an even better word.

“Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.” Immanuel Kant

In education there are in Georgia Standards points of reference in each subject to attain or to have knowledge of at that point of testing. Georgia had a system in place of Quality Core Curriculum which literally was each and every aspect of what the committee thought was important in that subject. Teachers were teaching to QCC’s which is purely specific content. There was excitement as standards came out and then the school curriculum people got hold of the standards and unpacked them as they say and now we have curriculum maps and curriculum pacing and what was to be wonderful has become a monster. Life has been stripped out and organization over loaded.

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.” Lin Yutang

I have several times used my example of a liter bottle and then having three gallons to put in it. How do we do it? We could use funnel but still only it is filled to a liter and the rest spills out. I use this illustration in educating special needs kids and I believe it applies to all children and adults. It has been a few months since my last trip to Mountain City and the Foxfire property and I will be heading up tomorrow morning. If you are in Mountain City Georgia take a look well worth the drive up Black Rock Mountain. The former car taker and curator Robert who has passed away with cancer would take you around the property. Here and there he would pick a plant or three or four telling about what they do and what they are used for by Native Americans and mountain folk. As he goes building to building explaining mountain life he eventually gets to a shed with a large copper coil sort of device and asks, “so what is it?” and answers run the gambit. Finally laughing he explains it is a condenser for making moonshine.
How do we fill a liter bottle? We condense, we synthesize and much like making cane syrup we boil the cane juice down to get to the good stuff. Wisdom is knowing what the good stuff is, and being able to transcend the frills and extras.

“The perfection of wisdom, and the end of true philosophy is to proportion our wants to our possessions, our ambitions to our capacities, we will then be a happy and a virtuous people.” Mark Twain

Make that number five on my list of people who I would like to meet. Somehow Mark Twain would always have the right words and thoughts. As I meander about today searching for books and ideas I will end with a line from a founding father and one maybe our current in power folks should read.

“I hope our wisdom will grow with our power, and teach us, that the less we use our power the greater it will be.” Thomas Jefferson

I hope we will listen to Jefferson and please keep all in harms way on your mind and in your hearts.
namaste
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