The Wisdom Within




Apply What You Know

 

Ever since 'Sammy the Psychic', a radio personality, showed up in my very grounded and concrete-thinking sister's dream years ago, we  refer to her intuition as 'Sammy', as in 'What's Sammy telling you?'.

I used to try out life management exercises on my sister before Sammy showed up. She hated answering the questions, but she did. Questions like 'If I had my life to do over I would....' or 'The most important thing I ever did was....' made her squirm.

Over the years 'Sammy' has appeared more frequently as Nancy learned to trust her insights more. Today she's very comfortable dealing with the profound questions of life. But listening to that inner voice, or the wisdom within, doesn't necessarily mean always listening for the profound.

As Nancy aka Sammy often advises me, look for horses, not zebras. Listening to the wisdom within can mean paying attention to the obvious or acting on what I know. And a failure to tap into that inner wisdom can lead to unresolved issues when the solution is right under my nose.

 I'm always amazed to discover I've put common sense or wisdom on the shelf. Last year my knees that had been giving me trouble for a year or so suddenly improved. I'd like to say the pain subsided because I was wise enough to listen to my body, or because I put my vast professional knowledge to use. No.

My knees stopped hurting because I started wearing the orthotics I stumbled across as I conducted my end-of-the-year closet clean up.  As soon as I started wearing my orthotics--the ones prescribed to reposition my pronating feet--the pain disappeared completely.

The truth is I often need to stop and make myself pay attention. To be truly wise, I have to see when I am not.

The affirmation, 'I open myself to the wisdom within' gives me pause. What is the truth of my inner wisdom? Am I really listening? Am I paying attention? Am I putting it to good use?

While there are many interpretations of the meaning of wisdom, what matters is how we use it to enhance our lives and the lives of those around us. For me, the Hebrew definition, 'to apply what I know',is the more important one. Time and again I  rediscover what I know in order to put it to good use in my life.

Greek Wisdom:      'To have knowledge.'
Hebrew Wisdom:  'To apply what you know.'

I invite you to practice the pause with me to  'open yourself to the wisdom within'. Who knows? Maybe Sammy will show up to help.