What is the pursuit of wisdom? If you can read these words, you already have some knowledge. IQ tests and the grading systems in schools identify our ability to retain facts, read the alphabet, calculate with numbers and so on. Wisdom goes deeper than merely the retrieval from our storehouse of information. It is what we do with that data, information, color recognition, depth perceptions, verbal skills, and calculating capabilities. How we measure what we know, no one can determine
The pursuit of wisdom has already begun within all of us.
We have been accumulating from before we breathed air. Whether in our DNA, gene pool, or brain synapses, there is a constant accumulation. Our bodies reacted to food as it is introduced to our bodies. We learn about the hot stoves, we collect favorite singers or comic book characters.
The pursuit of wisdom is always in progress.
In life our formal education pursues more details at any grade level we choose to attain. After school, information and data keeps flowing. So, whatever age we have reached, this wisdom pursuit has occurred even if we think otherwise. We continue to gather new information, new sports scores, new years, new names of friends and neighbors, new weather conditions, new movies and TV shows and so much more. Whether our pursuit is fast or slow, whether consciously seeking new data or it just comes our way, like the weather. Wisdom shows up in our resource banks.
The pursuit of wisdom descends from generations eternal.
We stand on the shoulders of those who have lived before us. Our knowledge starts with all the collected facts, data banks and descriptions of what they have learned. They are the explorers, guides and teachers for the platform of our wisdom.
The pursuit of wisdom has no finish line.
Wisdom has no boundaries. We do have capacities for how much we can learn at any one time. The key is recognizing that there is always another piece to learn, another factual data element, another source to review. We cannot know everything about everything – that would take multiple lifetimes. Consequently, we do not have to apologize for having limitations for what we know and for what we do not know. We are who we are, where we are right now. If we need more wisdom, we can expend time – to learn how to play music, speak a new language, recite poetry, play better golf, study persons of history and so much more.
Our individual pursuit of wisdom makes us unique.
What others want of us is what we know today along with our unique ability to take what we know and apply it to the building of a lifetime of wisdom gathering and wisdom sharing. Never stop the pursuit of wisdom, it has no end point or boundary in any direction from where we are to where we are going.
Richard Oppenheim helps individuals and companies get better. His effort is to deliver short term actions that will serve as the foundation for achieving long term goals, such as getting unstuck. He maps what is desired with what can be accomplished and then help create a personal road map for going forward.
As a CPA, Richard was an early innovator of computer based resources. Over the years, his efforts have integrated lots of business processes, personal actions, technology resources and decision making. He has developed computer based professional education courses and co-founded a company providing on-line education courses covering the areas of security, management and control over IT operations.
As an adjunct professor at NYU’s Graduate School of Business, Richard served as a Director with NYU’s Management Decision Laboratory. He graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and did post-graduate work at New York University.
His writing includes books, magazine columns, computer product reviews, feature articles, trade association pamphlets, book editing and ghostwriting.
His journey continues as he endeavors to guide and illuminate the path that others need to take.
