The Oyster Chronicles--Transforming Aridity into Pearls of Wisdom Chapter 1 True Grit: The Genesis of Wisdom “Far too much mystery barricades the unconscious; for the most part; it lies in plain view.” — Dwayne Poloway One need not to embark on an intense study of cosmo-genesis/anthropo-genesis to make a very obvious discovery: Wisdom always was and always will be right in plain view regardless of how thoroughly human ignorance chooses to conceal it. Unconsciously, we have done a very thorough job of placing it in plain view and convincing ourselves and others that wisdom lies hidden elsewhere. Quite sagacious of us! While boarding the school bus one morning, one of the senior students glared at me and spoke with an uncanny authority: “Danny is riding on our bus this afternoon; you are going to have to walk home.” What was a rejected, six year old to do? So when home time arrived, I didn’t board the bus. Instead, I grit my teeth and set my feet upon the gravel road that lead away from the school, wended my way toward the highway and prepared myself for the four mile trek homeward. However; a few minutes later, the school bus snuck up behind me and stopped. The driver, after flinging the door open, stared at me with glazed-over eyes and beckoned me to board and ride with the rest of the students including Danny and the condescending senior student. My Grandpa showed me that way home many times before since we rode that way with the horse and buggy; I knew my way home. What I was not shown or taught was to not take the statements of others literally. I was not taught to discriminate or query what people really meant with their meanings. And what was a joke to the senior student, was not a joke to me! Two different things! 1 Did the senior student really think that I would follow through on his threat? Did he even pause to contemplate the consequences of his terms? And there it was—the very obvious in plain view which was somehow occluded by misinterpretation through the abuse of displaced authority. There was plenty of room on the bus for everyone! A conscious effort to convey that by my elder brethren on that bus would have resolved the dilemma. Nevertheless, that incident got under my skin where it grew and grew. The grit of shame was planted deep in my experience and impacted further into the soil of despair with each incident of shame that followed till it erupted in outbursts of rage and anger. And when the inflammation of the thousands of similar events combined reached a point of critical mass, it exploded. It’s a strange, strange world we live in indeed. A world in which a child is not really coached properly on how to deal with “grit” which gets lodged somewhere within its developing nervous system. And the human nervous system is not an oyster; it does not stave off pain by secreting nacre in order to shield itself from incoming harmful impulses. Some mild scrapes we brush off and forget. That is natural. But the deep hurt upon hurt stacks up till it cannot be contained. Yet there are ways to deal with trauma sustained throughout life so that we are not over whelmed with feelings of shame; fear; anger and so on. And that is the purpose of “wisdom.” If one is taught from a very early age to learn from one’s mistakes or the mistakes of others and to seek instead the lessons to be gained from trials and tribulation instead of recoiling and retreating from life, the wisdom gained could be applied to other life events and the knowledge and wisdom would accrue exponentially. But alas; in most cases this is not so. If we are lucky though; we may learn through trial and error and pain may be a great teacher. However; it would be wise to premeditate one’s moves wherever possible. Therefore, learning about how we learn; discovering our own unique learning styles; understanding how to evaluate aright and making the most of our abstracting faculties enables us to prevent most discomforts. Wisdom therefore can be found within each one of us and lives at our core as our birthright. Every hardship or difficult period of our lives has something to offer us. And if we 2 recognize that the cards are stacked in our favor in all endeavors, wisdom becomes our ace and that in itself would eliminate the need to drift through life with frozen emotions or a poker face. Our irritants do not have to get blown out of proportion. True grit can be defined as irritants, tragedy, and periods of aridity that have been successfully transformed into valuable life lessons which can be shared with others. If others learn from and circulate those lessons, everyone involved would be benefitted leaving us wealthy with wisdom and rich with spirit. A pebble dropped into a pool creates a wave that flows outward till it reaches the farthest shore. A similar effect is created whenever wisdom is exacted from a life experience or a lesson learned—it goes out into the field or medium that surrounds us till it finds a searching recipient whether it is through intuition, a spoken word or through a gifted or talented author. Every one of us has an obligation to at some time mentor someone. And we do that out of duty and servitude to the human class of life. To live consciously and conscientiously prepares the seed bed in which the seeds of wisdom germinate, flourish and grow. Wherever and whenever we begin, that moment becomes the focal point of the “genesis of ‘our’ wisdom.”
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 19:04:58 +0000
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