You can go to 'all the school' and still never learn how to think or worse, you can be a mouthpiece of a particular template of thought that renders you little more than an interchangeable part of some weird hive mind, and every idea you spout can be predicted more than 6 seconds before even you utter it. Because you'd be bringing nothing new to the table.
More important than formal education and reading wide on a particular discipline or philosophy is simply being curious about everything. Read wide, watch old movies, consume genres of media that are outside your comfort zone, take an interest in history, culture; not just language, but the culture of language. Be mindful about the present and get off your phone from time to time and reflect. Don't be sheep. Allow your mind to appreciate negative emotions. The human spectrum of experience is not entirely joyous. That breadth allows you to have a singular expression free from fear or denial. Just don't dwell. Express yourself in some creative outlet so you understand by doing, and give voice to the nebulous sentiments of the human experience.
In the digital age, the entire annals of humanity is ripe for discovery.
And lest you become one of those moronic brats that have perfected the beats of mature conversation without it's substance, and show absolutely no sense of wonderment or respect for the experience or opinions of the older generations, always remain humble and curious. Sadly, something our Baby Boomer and Gen X parents forgot to pass on.
Be courteous to your elders and learn from them. You may be armed with a modern sensibility and progressiveness, and they less so. But what the hell does that have to do with 'Wisdom'?
YouTube, TEDx or Google be damned, some things are lived experiences passed down through the wisdom of the ages, and cannot be measured simply by having a wide breadth of knowledge alone, revolutionary as effacing entire human history to reinvent the wheel may seem.
As some may have said better,
stay thirsty, stay curious. Stay foolish.
No comments:
Post a Comment