Are you a lover of wisdom? The future of America and indeed humanity depends on enough people answering yes to this question.
Welcome back to Best Christmas Ever! Where we are exploring 28 Ways to Make this Your Best Christmas Ever!
The term philosopher is the combination of two Greek words. Philos, which means lover or friend. And Sophia, which means wisdom. Philosophy is therefore love of wisdom. A philosopher is a lover of wisdom or a friend to wisdom.
Mention philosophy and many people will think or say something like: “That’s too deep for me.” Wisdom isn’t too deep for anyone. It’s just the right depth for everyone. It meets us where we are on the journey and illumines the next step.
In our own way and according to our calling we should each aspire to be philosophers. We should each strive to become lovers of wisdom.
#17 is… Learn to deep think.
None of the problems we face as a society can be solved by shallow thought. There is no quick fix for them. They cannot be hacked. Our biggest problem is that we lack what is essential if we are to solve all our other problems. Namely virtue, and in particular patience.
The future of America, and indeed the future of humanity, depends on enough people becoming lovers of wisdom. If this is true, these futures depend on patience. Why patience? Because all deep thought requires patience, and all our problems will require deep thought to solve.
When was the last time you got beyond the sound bites and brief articles and really studied a topic, issue, or problem?
Pick one. Pick a topic, issue, or problem and study it deeply. This deep thought is the type of leisure Josef Pieper was talking about. It is soul refreshing and life-altering.
The world needs wisdom. More than that it needs wise people. You can’t Google wisdom. Google has no wisdom. It has information and knowledge, but wisdom is truth lived. It cannot be transmitted by books and lectures alone. Wisdom is most potent and most transmissible when someone lives it.
Think deeply about something this Advent and Christmas season. Deep thought is a beautiful thing. It will bring you joy. The joy of getting clearer every day about what matters most and what doesn’t matter at all. That clarity will inform your decisions, and every wise decision brings with it more joy.
Matthew Kelly
Watch the video!
Comments