Wisdom is the right application of knowledge, resulting in the betterment, the integration, the wholeness of all mankind regardless of social or worldly pressures placed upon a decision or direction. Sometimes the right application is in direct opposition to the pressures placed upon us.
If we want to discover the real beauty in our world look deeper and beyond the surface of our culture. All of us are directly apart of its ongoing creation. Each and every nuance that we contribute adds to the depth and color of our world. By being actively a part of our culture, you are adding your tiny but critical piece of beauty to the culture.
Ever stop and just look and listen to what is going on around you? The noise, the drama, the distractions are so voluminous that somedays we cannot even find the silence necessary to see or hear truth and meaning. Today take a moment to go into the silence and discover something wonderful about yourself.
Every day we all make a variety of commitments – to pick up dinner on the way home from the office, to attend your child’s sporting event etc. On some occasions we make promises such as marriage vows or a vow to another individual requiring a more immersed level of binding oneself to another. Our current culture has wandered away from holding people accountable to both commitments and promises allowing for vagueness to distort these critical aspects of living in a productive culture.
Like any good structure, the culture we live in is built upon a solid foundation and then is erected brick by brick. If the base foundation is formed on good principles, then each brick laid on top of the good foundation will erect a good culture. On the other hand, if the brick building is placed on top of poor principles, then the structure which is formed is jaded and will cause much hurt to those who exist inside of the culture.
Each day regardless of what you do or where you hang out you are exposed to statements of this person or that individual being treated in a way that is dehumanizing. This challenge of disrespecting others is causing the gradual decay of our society and culture. Each of us have the responsibility to stop this from consuming our world around us. It first starts with respecting ourselves and then giving respect to each other in all situations.
Noise is all around us. Whether it be the physical rhythms of the bustling street to the digital blur of your smartphone, these is a never-ending stream of noise pushing in on our culture. All this noise is grabbing bits and pieces of our attention and manipulating it down one path or another. To find our best culture we need to take a break from the noise and let our mental and emotional inner being rest so that it can shine real light on being our best selves.
A summertime highlight is the smells and sounds of the 4th of July holiday. Regardless of venue, neighborhood, city, state, forest, campground, lake, parking lot and any number of other gathering places, we all celebrate the 4th of July with great eats, beverages, and music. The freedoms we enjoy are best expressed in celebrations of culture.
It is easy to find the gloom and negativity which is pervasive in the digital world and various media platforms. Some days it seems that is all our world is about. Some rationalize it under the umbrella of news, yet others can take it to new lows under the guise of the end of civilization as we know it. STOP and use your senses to live. Breathe in the air, smell the roses, touch another human being’s hand, taste the sweetness of the nectar of fruit juice and hear the chirping of birds in trees. All of these stimulate the positive in our physical and emotional senses.
The culture we are currently navigating tends to be laden with many points of division rather than points that unify. It appears that points which divide are elected not because they are in the best interest of society but rather because they exist on the path of least resistance. When selecting the easy path, it comes without any self-reflection and self-control. It discounts respect for all humanity and places self-gratification at the center of the decision-making model.