Wisdom is not for the single soul
Nov 10th, 2008 by spaceagesage
I ran across this excerpt the other day from Natalie Goldberg in her book Writing Down the Bones.
“When I was in Jerusalem for three months, I had an Israeli landlady in her fifties. Her TV set was broken, and she called a repairman. It took him four visits to fix the screen. ‘But you knew even before he came the first time what was wrong. He could have brought the correct tube and fixed it immediately.’ She looked at me in astonishment, ‘Yes, but then we couldn’t have had a relationship, sat and drunk tea, and discusses the progress of the repairs.’ Of course, the goal is not to fix a machine but to have relationships.”
As I explore more of my own self and psyche, I find myself coming back to relationships as the place where growth really takes flight. I can read a book, attend a seminar, or write a blog — but in the end, all of the information, wisdom, and insight I might gain is nothing if it is never applied to relationships.
How easy is it for you to apply new insights and perspectives to your relationships?
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Photo credit: speech path girl
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Very true. The experiences that we have is in essence Nothing until we apply meaning to them. One way of applying meaning is to put them in the context of relationships.
Oh, when I call the computer repairman I tell him exactly what is wrong with the computer, to the last detail, and I repeat over and over again that he should come with the spare parts the first time 🙂
Hi Evelyn,
My fear is so much online activity may lessen that context …
Hi Marelisa,
*Laughing* Oh, yes, so would I … if my husband wasn’t my computer guy!
I think this is the kind of wisdom that comes at a later age. I am only now beginning to see that it’s all about relationships. During my twenties and early thirties I refuse to acknowledge that, because it almost seemed like a weakness – depending on other people for my happiness.
Hi, Vered,
You can’t really depend upon others for your happiness because it comes from within, but there is a fulfillment of all we are and are meant to be within relationships. Albert Schweitzer noted,
“I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.”
Relationships are important! What I find interesting is that I’ve been studying personal development for a long time and the hardest place to apply it is…. on myself 🙂 I’m getting much better at “being” with other people as I come to understand me better.
Hi Davina,
So achingly true!
I think the whole process of paying attention to relationship building started in my mid-thirties. Reflect, learn, build. Reflect, learn, build. But I had to figure out who I was before I could figure out who I wanted to have in my life. So, I agree with Vered. The first part of your adulthood is building a relationship with yourself. THEN you can build relationships with others.
That’s a lovely story, Lori!
And I think what you are saying is so true – there are some people out there who believe they “know it all” but you somehow get the feeling their ‘wisdom” is not tested in relationships (or other areas of life, perhaps).
Hi Urban Panther,
Finding your center can take awhile for some, until you have a lot of living under your belt.
Hi Robin,
Or maybe they do really know a lot, but insecurity of youth gets in the way?