On Wisdom, the Health of the World

By Chris Veritas

Her spirit is intelligent,
holy, wholly unique, cogent;
in loving, unassailable,
in blessing, irresistible.

Ours is an age of folly, masquerading as an enlightened epoch.

This is indeed an irony, for we are constantly told humanity is progressing and life is getting better. What standard are they using to measure this, for goodness’ sake?! (Oh, yes, it’s the double standard. Makes sense now.)

It’s true that advancements in technology have brought about progress in the world of machines. That is great if you’re a machine. If not, even though a world of possibility has opened up, this cannot compensate for the emerging control grid and the war machine’s outlandish capacities.

Have we forgotten that with human beings, paradoxes and dark-side realities always accompany the advances we make? That if we aren’t careful, greed will ruin the good intentions of the majority? This is Wisdom, to know oneself. To know humanity, its history, potential, and tendencies. Such knowledge leads to health: the health of bodies, minds, and souls, if applied with understanding. But if it isn’t, sickness results.

Have we ever been sicker? We produce foods filled with foolish ingredients, which cause disease, yet few are concerned. The remedies are harsh and damaging, yet few complain. Our minds are disturbed by myriad neuroses, and the institutions (also sick) that “treat” us prescribe dangerous cures. But people accept this as the status quo. And our souls, who even thinks about his soul today? To care about one’s soul is wise.

Wisdom is love. Whereas the foolish philosophy of the modern world is codified selfishness. This selfishness leads to incredible absurdities, like considering corporations to be people that need protection, while the homeless are scattered and (in some places) even criminalized.

Why is love wise? It looks after human beings. It scatters charity, not humanity; seeks the benefit of the many; cherishes life, increases health, and builds civilization through diplomacy and sacrifice.

Wisdom is wise use of knowledge.

As far as knowledge goes, the astute have caught on that the root of our modern problems began in the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Since man was made “the measure of all things”, and it was declared that “institutions can change human nature”, because all men are “blank slates”, more men have been killed and enslaved than at any other time in recorded history. Making mankind-alone our ideal does not seem to be wise, because man is a weak creature, who must transcend himself to flourish.

Wisdom means looking up and admiring Eternal Beauty. This is a means of transcendence and leads to life. Man admiring himself becomes myopic, and turns other men into objects of conquest. We’re seeing the fullness of this play out today, as all over the world, people are divided over ideology, ethnicity, and borders; one group stands on the left, another on the right, each furiously shaking its fists at the other. Hardly a region of the earth is not effected. It’s like we’ve all gone mad by drinking wolfbane.

The wise understand our problems begin from within, but are accentuated by bad teaching. Humanities’ flaws recycle themselves and are accentuated when ignored, as Tabula Rasa does. On the other hand, we have the ability to overcome human nature (don’t you think?), but it must be acknowledged that we have one in the first place! Otherwise, we may increasingly flounder about, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, till the cold water hits.

To acknowledge the past is Wisdom. To proceed with deliberation is intelligent. To honor the health of the body, the mind, and the spirit, is indispensable. All the while shoring up weaknesses in human beings and the systems we create. None of this is being done today. Instead, institutions trample on the very beings they’re designed to serve, lessons from the past are forgotten, and all our acquired Wisdom is scorned by those who consider themselves the gatekeepers of knowledge and societal welfare.

This is the height of folly.

The modern world may be ruled by intelligent idiots, but this doesn’t disclude us from personally growing in Wisdom. Ages come and go, but the light of life is carried by the wise, who know how to preserve the integrity of civilization, even through bleak epochs that masquerade as paragons ablaze.

Chris Veritas is the author of Wisdom Trilogy and New Poems. You can purchase it here, and read his satires here.

Image: Pixabay

Check out more from Chris Veritas

This piece was featured on Natural Blaze as a contribution from the author. Chris Veritas writes informative pieces like this at Veritas Gazette, at his blog, and humorous satire news at Some Cry Wolf.