WISDOM

I remember one famous news caster/weather forecaster said,"Knowledge is power." I agree. Knowledge about everything around us can make us strong, can make us wise, can make us decide best and it can also make us the person we want to be someday.

Confucius also said,"Acknowledging what is known to be known and not known to be not known is knowledge". As if he wants to tell us that it is a must to know everything about our  life, about ourselves and about our environment.

By being knowledgeable, we tend to be more observant, keen to details, and critical. If we are only eager to use this knowledge properly, we are able to withstand life's adversities.

The moment we cried out loud after normal or caesarian delivery, we already know that we are about to "know" more as days go by. The moment we move our lips to smile, move our tiny hands close and open and blink our eyes beautifully, we already "know" what is happening. This is what we do, unintentionally, as babies to express how we "know" what is happening.

Knowledge begins to be developed at home. As kids, our parents teach us how to first speak "mama" and "papa". They are the one's who helped us step our first foot. They are the one's who take us out to walk in parks and play on the play ground. To ride the small bicycle. To play the piano. They are the first people who expands our knowledge of life.

At the very young age of five, our parents knew to themselves it is time for us to "know" more things on our own and what's left as their duty is only to be our primary guide. They now take us to our first learning haven far from home, our primary school.

In this primary school, we learn the basics of life: animals, shapes, colors; names. As we go on, our secondary guides, our teachers, leads us to a quite difficult basic learning, to "know" how to read, write, speak better words and count. They serve as our basic training to fight ignorance and dullness. An they will eventually be our armor to whatever lies ahead.

Our next haven to better "know" life on our own with our primary and secondary guides is to stay in a secondary school. Here, we are now taught of the detailed information about life. This starts to develop our skills to "know" how to analyse information, solve hypothetical situations, count more detailed numbers and communicate better with ordinary people. As we go on, we will "know" what we specifically want to be short time from now.

In this school, we will first develop our emotions. We will "know" how to better use our senses. At this stage of "knowing" our life, we should be able to feel happy, sad, hurt, excited and afraid. This is the stage where we collect friends and enemies. Where we meet our first "heart-beat" and our first "heart-break". At this stage we also become aware of what is our strength and our weakness. This is the stage where we develop our skills to compete. Stage where we meet the highest expectations of our guides or face the least expected failure. But at this stage, we now "know" how to prepare for the challenges we're going to face in the next difficult stage. A stage where our guides will no longer guide us but will now become our advisers.

Before we step to the next difficult phase of our life, we should now "know" if we can pursue our search for more knowledge. Are we prepared? Do we have enough resources? This questions should be cleared first before we take a step on what we call, training to our brand new life. At this point, we should "know" our strength and weakness clearly. We should now "know" how to plan and strategize. What lies ahead is now more complex, more challenging but more rewarding. And then life goes on, whether we're prepared or not, we are now on our quest for wisdom.

I believe wisdom is "knowledge" applied to live a better life. Whether we continue to formal education or not, as long as we "know" how to apply the knowledge we've learned for the betterment of ourselves, of others, and of our environment, we are seeking wisdom.

Wisdom is only for people who sees things in its simplicity. Wisdom uses common sense. Wisdom knows how to use the "basics" to solve what is "complex". Wisdom sees the shades of black and white, it ignores colors unless needed. Wisdom speaks the truth and wisdom prefers today than yesterday and tomorrow.

I am not a religious person but I have faith, and I do read the bible and I quote,"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." By "fear of the Lord means obeying his commandments" That means being righteous in our ways and deeds. Also, Confucius said and I quote,"To summarize 'The Odes', it simply means 'Think no evil'."

To combine the two statements from two wise men in history, they only mean one thing: seek for wisdom.