Wisdom and Pain

I hope you feel better soon, and heal quickly, :kiss: despite the fact that you scare me :behindsofa: :becky:

Despite my uncertainty over whether you actually want opinions on whether only pain brings wisdom, I'll respond to the question:

A lot of my beliefs and decisions are the result of experiences involving pain (though never big knife pain) but what I consider the single greatest epiphany (i.e. acquisition of Wisdom) I ever experienced had nothing whatsoever to do with pain. I was sound asleep, and woke bolt upright, reached for my journal (in the dark, with no glasses) and furiously scribbled it down. Then I lay back down, and fell promptly asleep. The next evening, after I got home from work, I found my journal on the floor next to the bed and thought "Oh yeah! I woke up and wrote something" but couldn't remember what it was. I read it, it said:

"It comes in moments, not in days"

And I knew exactly what it meant, though I have no idea what provoked it.

It meant that happiness and contentment exist and/or can be found in moments of our life if we remain open to experiencing them, but that they were not states of being that were going to happen one day. I wasn't going to be happy "one day". The world wouldn't change; I wouldn't change somehow so that I'd be happy "some day". I could have moments of happiness and contentment and peace every day if I recognized them as they occurred.

So I have come to believe that while self-preservation techniques may come from pain, Wisdom comes from peace.

 

Foresight.

 

Silly Australians and their knives. :mno:

But I can't lecture too much since I did some pretty dumb things with my pocket knife when I was younger.

 

Of course! I shouldn't have worried so much. These guys are tough.

 

Shai Gar doesn't scare me. :mpick:

A friend of mine told me that gaining all the knowledge of the world can be very painful.

 

Pain----------------Wisdom---------------Pain------Pleasure

Actually, that's the not the only way to attain wisdom. See the chart. You can go directly towards the pain, or seek pleasure that will result in the same pain and then reel you onto wisdom. I prefer the shortcut.

 

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Don't worry, Shai, I don't fear you. You actually remind me of my old best friend I feel out of contact with a few years ago. Everyone thought him a lunatic that would one day go on a murder spree, when he was really all soft and mushy on the inside...of course, he really IS a lunatic.

 

becasue learning is so much more rewarding

 

Nicotine poisoning is not fun. Not that I would know... *darts eyes*
eating cigarette butts will screw you up.
/threadjack

Wisdom comes from pain because without sensory input, a belief is only theoretical. Once the physical world is involved, you're forced to be more honest with yourself.

 

Wow. The original post is ridiculous and hilarious.

 

^+1

Facing the effects of an action you committed is the only way to truly 'learn' anything. That's why theory is just that, theory.

 

Sometimes experience is the best teacher there is. Pain (and fear of it) can be a powerful motivator to learn from, although I don't think that pain necessarily makes someone more wise. There are conditions which have chronic pain, and I am sure that people do gain wisdom from sickness. I think we take from our experiences what we will, and they mold us into who we are.

 

Wisdom doesn't need to come from pain. Well, not your pain anyway. You can watch others be in pain and learn from it too. Anyway, if there were no pain, there would be nothing to stop us from killing ourselves.

 

I think the function of pain is to alert us, to motivate us to focus our attention to whatever needs it. It's a pretty obvious and logical system when considering the physical body. When you start to think about emotional pain the concept becomes more abstract but I believe it's the same principle and it provides the lesson you need to learn if you are willing to do so.

 

Wisdom would be listening to the little voice in your head to leave the knife in its place. heh
Wisdom; it screams from atop the mountains and rattles the soul. It displaces the waters and settles the mind. Wisdom cries aloud and has the hand to withdraw itself from a clenched fist. Wisdom learns to listen, and hears what others do not hear. Wisdom learns to look, and sees what others do not see.
Wisdom says more in silence than a hundred voices in anger. Wisdom embraces the brokenhearted and brings down the pride of the unwise. Wisdom stays at the dock when the experienced test their skills in the darkness and the fog at low tide, when one can see but at an arm's length.
Wisdom can be as simple as a smile and as complex as just walking away. Bits and pieces of wisdom we carry with us as we go our way, gathering more like picking strawberries while the morning's dew is still cooling them for better taste. Seek wisdom, and look for understanding.

 

pain is a wonderful teacher if accepted just as death can be when kept in mind.