Rhetorical Modes

I once met a wise man. He lived up the street in a tiny cottage, completely bare except for the light in the ceiling, a bed, a chair, a table, and shelves and shelves of books. I asked him one day if I could read one that looked fresh. He nodded and said I could. I asked if he had read it. He told me he had read them all a hundred times.

Wisdom comes from many sources, but particularly from experience. One must smell rain and paper, touch stone and plastic, hear birdsong and lecture, see sunshine and words, taste gourmet cuisine and home cooked food before wisdom can be achieved. And those aren’t even the only way.

Wisdom is not just knowledge, not just experience and not just common sense. It’s a little bit (or a big bit) of all of those. That’s why there’s no such thing as being as wise as you can be. You would need to live until the sun went out and the universe imploded, and even then you’d still need to learn about what comes next. So wisdom is easy to begin, but difficult to complete.

Ignorance and wisdom aren’t mutually exclusive, as some may think. In fact, ignorance can lead to as many insights as wisdom. If we have all wise people, then no one will ever do anything. All they’ll ever do is think. We need ignorant people to get done what needs to be done.

I have met many wise people in this world who have claims to wisdom. Some claimed their wisdom from books and long study. Some claimed it from experience, wandering the world and meeting people of all shapes and sizes. Some claim wisdom from common sense, a claim that I take with a raised eyebrow. However, I find that the men and women with true wisdom do not claim as such, but simply are. They don't need to tell me, since I know wisdom when I see it.

Wisdom has steps...in a way. There are hundreds upon thousands of ways to go about wisdom and an equal number of ways not to achieve it at all. I can't give you anything other than my personal thoughts on the path. The first step is deciding to become wise. This decision may not be essential, but I felt it was to me.

Wisdom is innate for some, hard work for others and for still others, impossible. It is a journey, of both the mind and the soul. For some, the path is much harder than it is for others.

Wisdom is thought of in terms of knowledge, experience, innate understanding, a certain amount of windmilling in the dark and time. It's true, wisdom can be all these things and also none of them. That's confusing and unclear, but then, that's wisdom for you.

When one becomes wise, the effect can be startling. Though it isn't a sudden change, changes will definitely be noticed. The person may become more thoughtful, or more active, more determined or simply quieter. You don't get many rowdy wise people, but you certainly do get wise activists and rabble rousers. Martin Luther King Jr. was a good example.

Wisdom can be a hard path to take, but it is a path certainly worth taking. Wisdom is a worthy goal and one that should be worked towards, regardless of who you are. Even if you choose not to complete the journey, the steps down the path you have taken will serve you well, perhaps providing guidance or comfort later in life.