Wisdom

“The important thing to keep in mind in our daily lives is:
1.) There are always two sides of the coin in every given situation
2.) Carefully considering the pro’s and con’s of the decision that needs to be made
3.) Using our past decisions to inform our future decisions.
4.) in a word: Wisdom”

Everyone these days is asking “is the Right correct, of is the Left correct?”

The answer is neither and both.

This is where wisdom comes in.

Wisdom was discovered by humans many many years ago as a solution to the fact that every situation is a two sided coin: we need to make a weighed calculation between the two sides of the coin in order to make the best decision in any given situation.

Any other process goes off balance and ends up in the ditch.

For example, one thing to note about government is that, it does not operate on wisdom. We make a decision about a representative, and then we go on auto-pilot, coasting along, thinking that our selected representative will make good decisions….. all the while knowing that every representative is influenced by other members of their party, trying to move their position in the government up, and lobby groups that have their own individual agenda.

Auto-pilot is the opposite of using Wisdom as an active tool in each situation.

So, the important thing to keep in mind in our daily lives is:
1.) There are always two sides of the coin in every given situation
2.) Carefully considering the pro’s and con’s of what decision needs to be made
3.) Using our past decisions to make future decisions.
4.) in a word: Wisdom

Some prominent examples of wisdom from ancient cultures include:

“Know thyself” from ancient Greece (associated with the philosopher Chilon of Sparta),
“Nothing in excess” from ancient Greece (attributed to Solon),
“The Golden Rule” found in various cultures including ancient Egypt and China,
“Live in harmony with nature” from Taoism,
“The Way of the Warrior” from ancient Japan (Bushido), and
“The concept of Karma” from Hinduism and Buddhism.

Specific examples by culture:

• Ancient Greece:
  “Know thyself” – Chilon of Sparta 
  “Nothing in excess” – Solon of Athens 
  “Too many workers spoil the work” – Bias of Priene 
  “Forethought in all things” – Periander of Corinth 

Ancient Egypt:
“The concept of Maat” – representing balance, justice, and truth 

Ancient China:
“The Tao” – the natural order and way of life from Taoism 
“The Golden Rule” – found in the Analects of Confucius 

Ancient India:
“Karma” – the principle of cause and effect 
“Ahimsa” – non-violence from Hinduism 

Ancient Rome:
“Carpe diem” – seize the day 
“Mens sana in corpore sano” – a healthy mind in a healthy body