Value for Sunday of Week 29 in the season of Ripening

Being Wise

Wisdom is a complex human trait, characterized by a marriage of the intellect with the emotions, and put into action.

  • By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest. [attributed to Confucius]
  • The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. [Isaac Asimov]
  • Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom. [widely attributed to Aristotle]
  • Never interfere with the enemy when he is in the process of destroying himself. [attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte]

The transcendent intellectual virtue is wisdom. King Solomon’s court is said to have marveled at his wisdom when he ordered the baby cut in half, knowing that would identify the mother; even if he was wrong, the only woman, of the two, fit to care for the child was the one who would act to save him. Wisdom is intellect reaching deep into the emotional lives of others, often predicting how they will feel or what their behavior will be, and acting accordingly. It must be grounded in universal respect for human worth and dignity. All the building blocks we have taken so far must be in place, then wisdom can thrive.

Conceptually, agape and courage and simple concepts; by contrast, wisdom is a complex human trait, with many components. Overall, it refers to making sound judgments in difficult situations, employing knowledge and experience. Such knowledge may be most useful in leading to wisdom when it is hard-earned, However, scholars do not agree on a precise definition. A few statements about it are:

Several wisdom paradigms have been developed (see Table 4 here):

If wisdom was easily defined, perhaps it would not be a transcendent intellectual virtue. Although not all scholars agree on a precise definition of wisdom, its main features are generally believed to include:

In addition to reaching into the emotions, wisdom is in its essence active. Knowing what to do but not doing it, is not wisdom. As we get into the components of dignity, at the pinnacle of ethical Being, the domains of Being are increasingly united.

Real

True Narratives

It was my teacher's genius, her quick sympathy, her loving tact which made the first years of my education so beautiful. It was because she seized the right moment to impart knowledge that made it so pleasant and acceptable to me. She realized that a child's mind is like a shallow brook which ripples and dances merrily over the stony course of its education and reflects here a flower, there a bush, yonder a fleecy cloud; and she attempted to guide my mind on its way, knowing that like a brook it should be fed by mountain streams and hidden springs, until it broadened out into a deep river, capable of reflecting in its placid surface, billowy hills, the luminous shadows of trees and the blue heavens, as well as the sweet face of a little flower.  Any teacher can take a child to the classroom, but not every teacher can make him learn. He will not work joyously unless he feels that liberty is his, whether he is busy or at rest; he must feel the flush of victory and the heart-sinking of disappointment before he takes with a will the tasks distasteful to him and resolves to dance his way bravely through a dull routine of textbooks. [Helen Keller, The Story of My Life (1904), Chapter VII.]

Other true narratives:

When wisdom was lacking:

Technical and Analytical Readings

Photographs

Documentary and Educational Films

Imaginary

Fictional Narratives

Karen Russell is an author with a remarkably distinctive literary voice.  “Her work has a velocity and trajectory that is little less than dazzling and a tough, enveloping, exhilarating voice that cannot be equaled.

Other novels:

Poetry

Books of poems:

Music: Composers, artists, and major works

Paul Simon writes of life. Just when you think we’re “gliding down the highway”, he lands a devastating verbal blow to the solar plexus. You may not feel it at the time but sooner or later, if you’re paying attention, it will catch up with you. Simon earned an honored place in popular music history with his beautiful duets with Art Garfunkel but his was not the pretty voice. His performances are professional but his high-baritone voice is thin and unremarkable. His incorporation of world music into his own is forward-looking and excellent but not extraordinary. Simon’s place in music history, and as the first recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for popular song, comes from his unique combination of easy popular melodies with brilliant lyrics that jar the soul not with crass or vulgar language but with images in the key of life. Simon has been the subject of biographies by Robert Hilburn, Peter Ames Carlin and Laura Jackson. Hilburn convinced Simon to cooperate with the biography by telling him “. . . it would be a ‘serious’ book, not a typical celebrity biography. I also told him I felt he owed it to history; that his story, the music and the personal life, deserves to be documented. Simon’s solo releases are extensive, and his releases as the singer-songwriter in Simon & Garfunkel are iconic. Playlists and videos are also available. He has given recorded live concerts in Montevideo in 1992, for BBC in 2006, in Nottingham, U.K., in 2016, and in Charlotte, N.C., in 2017. His 1981 Concert in Central Park with Art Garfunkel was a cultural event. 

Carl Nielsen, Violin Concerto, Op. 33, FS 61 (1911) (approx. 35-40 ‘): wisdom incorporates high intellectual and emotional functioning. So it is with Nielsen’s Violin Concerto. Nielsen expressed his intent: “It has to be good music and yet always show regard for the development of the solo instrument, putting it in the best possible light. The piece must have substance and be popular and showy without being superficial. These conflicting elements must and shall meet and form a higher unity.” Violinist Vilde Frang says: “It's very hard to get Nielsen right; I think it's because his music isn't very obvious. Structurally, it's so free -- it swims, in a way. There is a structure, but it's a very exotic, very special, very personal kind of structure.” Violinist Johan Dalene says: “The music is full of surprises, unexpected harmonic twists and sudden changes of mood. Here we find pride, joy and an exquisitely beautiful and melancholy slow movement which ends with a question mark. There is an enormous wealth of detail and every time I return to Nielsen’s music, I find something new. Top recorded performances are by Lin (Salonen) in 1988, Tellefsen (Menuhin) in 1989, Vengerov (Barenboim) in 1996, Anthony (Matson) in 1998, Znaider (Foster) in 1999, Matsuyama (Wagner) in 1999, Frang (Jensen) in 2011 ***, Zilliacus (Blendulf) in 2014, and Dalene (Storgårds) in 2022. 

Other artists and albums:

Compositions:

Music: songs and other short pieces

Visual Arts

Film and Stage

This Is Our Story

A religion of values and Ethics, driven by love and compassion, informed by science and reason.

PART ONE: OUR STORY

First ingredient: Distinctions. What is the core and essence of being human? What is contentment, or kindliness, or Love? What is gentleness, or service, or enthusiasm, or courage? If you follow the links, you see at a glance what these concepts mean.

PART TWO: ANALYSIS

This site would be incomplete without an analytical framework. After you have digested a few of the examples, feel free to explore the ideas behind the model. I would be remiss if I did not give credit to my inspiration for this work: the Human Faith Project of Calvin Chatlos, M.D. His demonstration of a model for Human Faith began my exploration of this subject matter.

A RELIGION OF VALUES

A baby first begins to learn about the world by experiencing it. A room may be warm or cool. The baby learns that distinction. As a toddler, the child may strike her head with a rag doll, and see that it is soft; then strike her head with a wooden block, and see that it is hard. Love is a distinction: she loves me, or she doesn’t love me. This is true of every human value:

justice, humility, wisdom, courage . . . every single one of them.

This site is dedicated to exploring those distinctions. It is based on a model of values that you can read about on the “About” page. However, the best way to learn about what is in here is the same as the baby’s way of learning about the world: open the pages, and see what happens.

ants organic action machines

Octavio Ocampo, Forever Always

Jacek Yerka, House over the Waterfall

Norman Rockwell, Carefree Days Ahead

WHAT YOU WILL SEE HERE

When you open tiostest.wpengine.com, you will see a human value identified at the top of the page. The value changes daily. These values are designed to follow the seasons of the year.

You will also see an overview of the value, or subject for the day, and then two columns of materials.

The left-side column presents true narratives, which include biographies, memoirs, histories, documentary films and the like; and also technical and analytical writings.

The right-side columns presents the work of the human imagination: fictional novels and stories, music, visual art, poetry and fictional film.

Each entry is presented to help identify the value. Open some of the links and experience our human story, again. It belongs to us all, and each of us is a part of it.

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The Work on the Meditations