Blog Archive

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Wisdom

This summer has been exhausting.  The first half of my CPE program has exhausted me physically, mentally, spiritually.  To combat this fatigue, I've begun to draw on the spiritual resources I've accumulated for times like these.  In particular, I was blessed with a wonderful undergraduate experience where not just my mind, but the content of my character was challenged.  Much of how I view the world was shaped by these experiences.

One of my final assignments of my college career was to interview someone about what it means to live a contemplative life.    Along with the esteemed Joshua from Burning River Writing, I interviewed one of our professors, Bob, who shared with us some of his accumulated wisdom.  I stumbled across the word document with the results from this interview today.  It feels like an appropriate time to share this wisdom as I work to practice what I have been taught.


 How to live a contemplative life, according to Bob: 
  1. Live for a long time.  That’s the only way you’ll really gain any wisdom.
  2. Don’t just take religion classes; take a science class, too.
  3. Underlining books is a spiritual practice.
  4. Don’t try to get rid of mystery.  It’s always going to be there.
  5. It’s okay to not be great at prayer.
  6. Looking back is good, but looking forward is valuable as well. 
  7. Learn how to focus on one thing at a time.
  8. Don’t always bring your work home with you.
  9. Breathe. 

Thanks to Bob, and all of the other wonderful professors, mentors, family, and friends who continue to challenge me not just to achieve, but to live a life of meaning.  


Posted by at

2 comments:

  1. bobinbereaJune 30, 2013 at 4:50 PM

    I bet this 'Bob' guy did say these things, but he would tinker with wording or add a point or two today. ;-) RE: #1--young people can be wise; old people can be foolish; but life can and should be a great teacher. We who have lived a while have merely had lots of opportunity to wise up. Whether we have wised up or not is another matter. RE: #2--don't just take _a_ science class--take all the math and science you can handle (or 'stomach'?)! E.g., I'm reading a lot about evolution and cosmology these days, and I'm blown away by what scientists have learned and continue to learn. And lots of math types argue that mathematics is the very language of God. We who would understand God would do well to understand God's Cosmos and how it operates. RE: #4--mystery is not only destined to stick around, it is the Source of All. The best scientists are really good with mystery, because the more they learn, the more they know that they don't know. Maybe awe in the face of mystery is the common ground of religion & math/science? Enough--thanks for bringing all this back to mind again! Now, let's see if this will post… Bob

    ReplyDelete
  2. Karl and JayneJune 30, 2013 at 7:57 PM

    I think this requires Uncle Karl for a good response, but I'm glad to know you are reflecting. Rest when you can. Love you.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)