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When
you feel burdened by formal education, do not be quick
to cast it aside. What is happening is a great
surge in your growth and consciousness that is
screaming out for immediate and total exploration.
Remember
that all other learners have traveled the same
path. And though all true learners have felt
this urge to strike out on their own, formal
education, in its many shapes and guises, has been
sought and revered by all people and all cultures at
all times. It has a genius that is greater than
our passions, and is abandoned at your own peril.
Still,
formal education will not inform your spirit and make
you full. So, along with knowledge, you must
seek wisdom. Knowledge is multiple, wisdom is
singular. Knowledge is words, wisdom is
silent. Knowledge is standing outside,
understanding what is seen, wisdom is standing at the
center, knowing what is not seen. No person can
be whole without both dimensions of learning.
There
are many ways to seek wisdom. There is travel,
there are masters, there is service. There is
staring into the eyes of children and elders and
lovers and strangers. There is sitting silently
in one spot and there is being swept along in life's
turbulent current. Life itself will grant you
wisdom in ways you may neither understand or choose.
It is
up to you to be open to all these sources of wisdom
and to embrace them with your whole heart.
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So do
not disparage the lessons of either the schooled or
the unschooled.
Those
who have less formal education may have learned some
single thing more deeply, or they may have embarked
early upon the search for wisdom. In their
uniqueness, they have discovered something special
about life, and it is yours to experience if you are
open to what they have to teach.
Those
who have devoted their lives to formal learning may
have walked further along a path than you can even
imagine, and may be able to lead you to a vista that
will take your breath away, if only you can overcome
your boredom and fatigue at the rigors of the search.
Remember
the words of the musician who was asked which was
greater, knowledge or wisdom. "Without
knowledge," he answered, "I could not play
the violin. Without wisdom, I could not play the
music."
Place
yourself among those who carry on their lives with
passion, and true learning will take place, no matter
how humble or exalted the setting. But no matter
what path you follow, do not be ashamed of your
learning. In some corner of your life, you know
more about something than anyone else on earth.
The true measure of your education is not what you
know, but how you share what you know with others.
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Simple
Truths. Kent Nerburn
A very nice, simple collection of thoughts and
reflections on many
of the aspects of our daily lives
that most of us take for
granted--possessions, giving,
love, money, travel, and many
others. Very readable
and thought-provoking, and well worth a
read.
Visit
Kent's site at kentnerburn.com!
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