“I am persuaded there is among the mass of our people a fund of wisdom, integrity, and humanity which will preserve their happiness in a tolerable measure” ~ John Adams I wonder what John Adams would think of the current state of the fund of wisdom, integrity and humanity bequeathed to us many generations ago? …
Tag: wisdom
There is no substitute for wisdom
There is absolutely no substitute for wisdom. Wisdom, the sense of the fitness of things, is what allows you to say the right thing at the right time, to do the right thing at the right time or to refrain from speaking or acting when the time is right. The alternatives to wisdom, namely, the …
The Spirit of the Age
"The spirit of the age is filled with the disdain for thinking." ~ Albert Schweitzer Learning to think is one of the most underrated and overlooked of the steps that lead to living a purposeful, meaningful and fulfilling life. Far more than developing the ability to ingest, digest and retain information, learning to think involves …
What Makes Life Worth Living?
One of the most exciting academic advances of our current era comes to us from the field of psychology. I was reading the monthly magazine published by the College of Literature, Science and the Arts of my alma mater, the University of Michigan, and I was surprised to see an article entitled "The Science of …
The Natural Aristocracy
Friends of mine were discussing politics and leadership the day before yesterday and one raised the question: "I wonder why the most successful people, financially speaking, like Bill Gates or Warren Buffett shouldn't be running the country?" The question carried a bit more weight in my mind given Donald Trump's recent indication that he would …
Viewer Discretion is Advised
"I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them but to inform their discretion." ~ Thomas Jefferson Rather than complain about the …
What are you waiting for?
Every once in a while you come across someone who says one valuable thing after another. Roman Emperor for 19 years, Marcus Aurelius was the last of the "Five Good Emperors" and is considered the most important of the Stoic philosophers. His words ring true as much today as they likely did when they were …
The Spirit of Adventure
An old friend of mine mentioned that she is moving in a couple of weeks and that a friend of hers was going to accompany her in true "Thelma and Louise" style. I don't remember much about the 1991 movie starring Susan Sarandon (Louise Sawyer) and Geena Davis (Thelma), apart from a poignant quote by …
Wisdom: See the Miraculous in the Common!
"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely." To use time wisely you need wisdom. Short on wisdom? Ralph Waldo Emerson offers a powerful starting point: "The invariable mark of wisdom is to see the miraculous in the common." Is there anything more common than common things in this world? Ample opportunity to see the miraculous!
Gregory Hake 