Learning From Each Other

"Some wisdom must be learned from one who is wise." Euripides

Are you ever tempted by a completely do-it-yourself approach to life? Do you ever harbor thoughts that in business or in your personal life, you can successfully make it all up as you go along, figuring it all out, at least sufficiently for your own purposes? 

Whether we ever explicitly think like that or not, that’s often the way we act. Why don’t we consult the wisdom of others more? There are people all around us who have insight to share if we’d just tap into it. They don’t have to be wiser than you to have something to offer you. As long as they think of something differently from the way in which you customarily think, as long as they approach life from a slightly different angle - and, let’s face it, everyone does - there’s something you can learn from the people around you, perhaps in unexpected ways.

Socrates taught Plato, Plato taught Aristotle, and Aristotle taught Alexander the Great.  Who are you teaching? And who is teaching you? Don’t think you can do it all yourself. Consult with someone who is wise. 

Today.

The Wisdom Around Us

"No man is wise enough by himself," Plautus once wrote. He could have added, no woman, either, but they may come closer, at their best.

His point is an important one. It’s amazing how often we approach life as if we have to make it all up ourselves as we go along - like no one has ever trod this path before us who might have some advice that can help us along the way. I believe that the great thinkers of the past have left us the equivalent of a huge bank account of wisdom for living, but we rarely ever draw on that account. We live in existential rags while the riches of the ages are available, waiting for us to use them.

When I was growing up, I heard a story about a poor farmer in Texas whose little ramshackle house was sitting on one of the largest oil reserves in the country, but he didn't know it for a very long time. That's another great image for our untapped resources. But our reserves of wisdom from the past represent a much more renewable form of energy. We need to access what we have, in order to power our endeavors and lives forward in the best ways.

We also too often neglect to draw on the wisdom of the people around us. I’m typically astonished at how much smarter I feel after I’ve been talking to wise people, hearing what they’ve been learning about life. We're not here to go it alone. Many of the world's greatest creative endeavors have been collaborative, drawing on the insights of others, and perhaps a variety of perspectives that can come together only through open conversations fueled by true curiosity. When we seek out wise people and really talk to them, amazing things can happen.

Is there anything perplexing you in your life or work right now? Or do you just feel like you could use a little extra wisdom as you steer through the shoals of the day? Make it a point to talk to someone whose wisdom you admire. Or perhaps give someone a chance whose wisdom you haven’t even come to suspect. Share a concern, or just bring up a topic of interest. 

Or, alternatively, pick up an old book, like The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius, or some essays from Seneca, or even my own summary of Marcus, Seneca, and Epictetus, The Stoic Art of Living. You may be surprised at what results. 

We need each other’s insights, across town and through the ages. 

Shocking News About Wisdom

There's some important news to share. I've blogged recently about wisdom. And, because of something that's pretty astonishing in recent science news, I wanted to highlight an important side of it today, or maybe a way of getting more of it into our lives.

Wisdom doesn't just come from sitting and thinking. And that's a good thing, because few people seem to want to do that now. Even the fact that you're quietly reading this blog post makes you a pretty remarkable person. In fact, the prestigious journal Science recently reported an experiment where people were given the choice to either sit quietly and ponder their lives, or else administer electric shocks to themselves, and a surprising (I should say shocking) 64% of men and 15% of women chose the voltage. Pain over pondering. Sit and ponder that for a moment. And, please, especially if you're a guy, fight off any urges to go stick your finger in a socket instead.

I'm not kidding. This is a problem. But, fortunately, to gain wisdom, you don't have to turn off the phone, put down the pad, and just sit alone and meditate on your life.

Wisdom is embodied insight about living, a form of deep, practical knowledge that will guide our paths in good times and bad. If we keep our eyes wide open, if we truly pay attention, and ponder a bit what comes our way, as we're out and about in the world, we can accumulate a bit of wisdom almost every day.  And especially on those days when we share a thought, a musing, a perplexity, or a question of wonderment with a friend. And here's the good news.

We often have our deepest insights in conversation with others. That's the way we're made. We're intended to share this journey of life together with fellow travelers. We're meant to learn from each other and with each other. So make it a point today or tomorrow to ask someone a question about something that really matters to you. Listen carefully to the answer. And then share your own thoughts. You may find yourself with a new insight, a new angle on an old insight, a bit of wisdom that will light your path, a possession of the heart that costs nothing and yet may pay great dividends for the future. 

Any day that you've accumulated a new piece of wisdom is a successful day, the most certain support there can be for a truly successful life.