Think Of That

True thinking is work. It involves being comfortable with not knowing.

Diane Cameron
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Hello Arlene, ,
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I was talking with a friend the other day and during the conversation I recalled an experience that occurred when I turned 50. I was surprised at how little I knew. I thought, here I've lived half a century, an active life, where is all this wisdom I'm supposed to have? It was then that I began to realize I didn't know any where near as much as I thought I did.

But to gain any sort of wisdom requires thought. It does not want opinion, guessing, throwing dice or consulting the advice column of the newspaper. It requires imagination, probing, investigating, challenging and, very importantly, as Diane Cameron says, being comfortable with the fact that there are many things, too many things, you don't know.

I wanted to understand the books and articles I was reading and not just skim over them. I wanted to join in on discussions people were having around me about subjects that were foreign to me. I was caught up in a trap of not really knowing the things I thought I knew.

I began by going back over some of the books I had read and really digging into them. Then I started buying books on all sorts of subjects, subjects I didn't' really think I was interested in. only to discover I did enjoy learning about them. Books on science, philosophy, history, religion and psychology really challenged my mind and forced me to think.

After a while I found that I was coming up with my own ideas which seemed to intrigue people when I expressed them. As I approached my 70"s I began to write. I suppose at last I have some small measure of wisdom. I'm still baffled by a great many things but I'm comfortable with that since there is always something to learn and to think about.

DB - The Vagabond
Never Give Up
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HYMN FOR THE OCCUPIERS

A glorious day is dawning,
And o'er the waking earth
The heralds of the morning
Are springing into birth.
In dark and hidden places
There shines the blessed light;
The beam of truth displaces
The darkness of the night.

The advocates of error
Foresee the glorious morn
And hear in shrinking terror
The watchword of reform:
It rings from hill and valley,
It breaks oppression's chain.
A thousand freemen rally,
And swell the mighty strain.
(Unknown)

NEVER GIVE UP
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AUTUMN QUESTION

What event over the past year changed your life, a lot or a little?

Only 5 answers so far.

dbdacoba@aol.com

I eagerly await your answers.
DB
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