In the previous article, we talked about the wise person’s appreciation for every person and his significant, valuable role in life’s symphony, in which everyone participates harmoniously and in coordination, due to God’s creation and creativity in the universe, for the more the wisdom of a man increases, the more valuable and splendid he becomes, as a gorgeous tune of that symphony played by a clever musician.
Wisdom and Situations:
As the wise man lives in harmony with those around him and appreciates the value of every man’s work, he also deals wisely, in the same manner, with all situations and events he faces, for he is well aware of the nature of those situations and events and how he should react, hence, he is able to make the right decisions as a result of his experience in life’s journey and his wisdom in discerning everything around him.
This reminds me of that visitor who was roaming in the Dead Sea area, and as he was walking by the seashore, suddenly slipped and he fell into the sea. He was extremely frightened and panicked, because he couldn’t swim and he felt he was drowning little by little in the deep water. For a little while, he was kicking the water with his hands and his feet hopelessly, moving involuntarily to save his life. Afterwards, he felt exhausted and desperate, so he decided to surrender for he couldn’t continue his attempts and he stopped.
Amazingly, after he stopped trying to save his life, he found his body rising to the surface, because of the sea water that was so salty and saturated with minerals that it pushed objects upwards, so they’d neither sink nor drown. Thus, that man would have definitely changed his attitude and would have saved his exerted effort and his anxiety, regarding that situation, if he had known such information.
Our actions in any situation are outputs of our understanding of the nature of what we face in such situations, and the more the mystery of any situation increases, the more troubled and confused we become.
As for wise humans, they act better, more calmly and positively due to their wisdom and understanding of the dimensions of every situation.
Concerning acting wisely in certain situations, I once read a story about some sailors who’d grown quite homesick, as their Spanish warship was sailing calmly home towards the harbor, after sixteen months in the waters of the southern islands. Hardly had they approached territorial waters than heavy grenades were fired against them, so the crew and the soldiers panicked, wondering what reason was behind that attack against them, as they were in their own area of navigation in their country!
Then they realized that US Admiral Dewey achieved a crushing naval victory over the Spanish fleet during the Spanish-American War during their absence (April to August 1898), so they pulled down the Spanish flag and waved a white flag, declaring their surrender. Accordingly, they arrived at the harbor peacefully.
We can see that the reason of the ship’s attack and its surrender was neither the small number of soldiers, nor their lack of battleship equipment and capabilities, but rather their unawareness of the actual situation they were encountering. Consequently, they couldn’t proceed to act appropriately in the situation.
As the Scripture says: “A wise man scales the city of the mighty, And brings down the trusted stronghold.” That ability of any wise man is acquired from his ability to act in situations wisely and consciously, and also as a result of a profound understanding of everything around him. And as Wise Solomon says: “Wisdom is in the sight of him who has understanding, But the eyes of fool are on the ends of the earth.” Wise King Solomon says that he who has understanding has wisdom as well.
A wise person turns all situations into construction:
Therefore, the wise person is well aware that no life is without difficulties, and in the midst of the situations s/he experiences, s/he is definitely sure that those difficulties neither weaken nor destroy him/her; rather they strengthen.
Hence, a wise human turns every tribulation and difficulty into an incentive for steadfastness, encouragement and success, consequently, despair never overtakes him/her, because s/he learned and knew their message and role in life believing in the saying: “The greatest architectural construction is building a bridge of hope above a river of despair.”
So the tribulations that humans experience remind me of the shark which chases the fishes, so the fishes escape actively, acquiring both skill and strength.
I admire what I once read about the Scottish author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson who suffered from terrible tuberculosis, such that he was no longer able to write with his right hand! Yet, he didn’t surrender and he did his best and endeavored to write with his left hand! However, a little while later, his left hand also lost its writing ability!! But amazingly, that hardship increased his motivation and determination to succeed, subsequently he dictated to one of his friends his remaining literary works. Subsequently, when he lost the ability to form words and became incapable of speech, he struggled even harder, and he insisted on learning sign language, using whatever strength remained in his fingers!!!
It is said that this great author used to face all the adversities he experienced with a smile and merriment, which granted him strength upon strength, and creativity upon creativity.
Once a wise man was asked: “What is wisdom?” and he answered: “Wisdom is discerning what you know and what you don’t know.” Between what a wise man knows and what he doesn’t know comes life’s journey, through which he learns how to build bridges of hope, to cross rivers of despair in the midst of the impossible.
To be continued…
