winter, elder

Wisdom is a living stream, not an icon preserved in a museum.Only when we find the spring of wisdom in our own life can it flow to future generations.

What is my word, what is human wisdom
but a noise that reaches the outer ear?
But from that ear to the heart lies a road
that only God can travel.
Blessed are you who do not put your trust
in the noise of your own words,
even though they come wrapped in great
        human wisdom.

Wisdom is developed through spiritual practice; for in silence you learn what can never be taught.

In the pouring forth of wisdom
 all things have their being;
 wisdom in my shining,
 wisdom beyond me shining.
All things are branches
of the Tree of wisdom
wisdom in me growing,
wisdom beyond me growing.
In the circle of being
all things share a blessing;
wisdom in me turning,
wisdom beyond me turning. 

Wisdom replaces ignorance in our minds when we realize that happiness does not lie in the accumulation of more and more pleasant feelings, that gratifying craving does not bring us a feeling of wholeness or completion.It simply leads to more craving and more aversion.When we realize in our own experience that happiness comes not from reaching out but from letting go, not from seeking pleasurable experience but from opening up in the moment to what is true, this transformation of understanding then frees the energy of compassion within us.Our minds are no longer bound up in pushing away pain or holding on to pleasure.Compassion becomesthe natural response of an open heart.

Innocence is precious and powerful: not to be confused with ignorance, it is a Divine protection against the negative forces of life.We grow wise by stages and often a whole lifetime of experience is necessary to gain wisdom."Wisdom is glorious," said Solomon, "and never fadeth away."

Wisdom means "to see" or "to know".It does not mean knowing facts or having an opinion.Wisdom is uncovered by being present enough to perceive the essence of your whole experience.This wisdom will help you attend to what matters in your life and understand the meaning of your life's changes.The practice of moment-to-moment PRESENCE is key.Seeing essence; knowing wholeness.

Wisdom consists in doing the next thing you have to do, doing it with your whole heart and finding delight in doing it.And the DELIGHT is the sense of the sacred.

Little by little, from a deep level, the Spirit of Wisdom is showing herself.Sophia dwells in the hearts of those who seek new dreams and hope for a more wholesome world: the Dorothy Days, the Martin Luther Kings, the Archbishop Romeros ... [there are so manynow!].Sophia rejoices in the visionaries and the peace-makers.She fills them.In a world which is hungry, tired and seeking, God's presence is shown in Sophia through people who are to experience, in our insecure world, God's wholesome vision and dream for the human race, born of both the masculine and the feminine Holy Energies.

It was from my experience in alternating work at the Red Cross and forest service that I began to learn the difference between loneliness and solitude. I now believe that loneliness occurs when our lives are somehow missing one-half of a pair of opposites — being and doing. We can be very busy and surrounded by people yet still feel intense loneliness because our lives are dominated by "doing;" there is insufficient time for attentive solitude with our thoughts and feeling. When your life is filled with too much doing, the only cure for loneliness is a strong dose of solitude, a form of solitude that is meditative and open to your inner self.