Wisdom Worth 1000 Words

"The art of being wise is knowing what to overlook."--William James

"It is easier to be wise for others than for ourselves."--Francois De La Rochefoucauld

"Silence does not always mark wisdom."--Samuel Taylor Coleridge

"No man was ever wise by chance."--Seneca

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Everybody has those times where they just, you know, make the wrong choice. I know this, but sometimes, when the situation that causes the choice should be a no brainer, i wonder how the heck i always manage to get my butt into trouble. Like my quote from Williams James (above), I think i just dont know what to overlook sometimes...

Like, lately, i managed to unknowingly walk right into trouble and take a seat. I managed to hurt somebody i care about, and im still deceiving somebody i dont because i dont want to get hurt. Im one of those people that Francois De La Rochefoucauld talks about (above), because i would never advise someone to get into the situation that i managed to get into. I mean, when somebody youve never been good friends with asks you to "join forces" to "take down" somebody whos been there for you, should you accept the offer in hopes of reconciling with first said person (heres a hint, kids: UH, NO!)? . . . But guess who did just that.

When i realized that id got myself in too deep, that i was upstream without a paddle, my first thought was too keep my mouth shut in hopes that the situation would go away. I thought the best way to get myself out of it was to keep my trap shut and pretend id never got in. But, i felt guilty, even though my involvement was very little, and i realized that if i dont say anything to my friend to redeem myself, it could ruin our friendship. I realized that, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge (above) says, keeping quiet doesnt mean i learned anything. If you learned a lesson, speak up.

The entitlement of this blog, Wisdom Worth 1000 Words, means just that. In a paraphrase of Seneca (above), we dont just fall into wisdom. It is not something we choose to gain or not to gain, to have or not to have. It is something we get from the experiences in our lives that mold us and make us into who we grow up to be. Wisdom comes from what we allow ourselves to glean from our personal day to day. Everybody is wise in a different way, and if those who are wise speak their minds that wisdom will be worth 1000 words to somebody who knows not which way to go. "No man was ever wise by chance" but wisdom is a gift. Use it.

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Yours truly.

<3-possum

Busy, busy, busy...

Okay, so, its been about a week since ive blogged, but ive been so busy with all kinds of stuff. The National Guard, LDC, three days worth of make up homework, back-breaking labor at Hardees (bleck), chores, writing my second RLC English 1101 essay, and writing my article for the JILG newsletter. As Palmie would say "W:oW"...

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So, last week on Tuesday morning my Jobs For Illinois Graduate group went to the old gymnasium in Sesser. Sergent Sanders and her crew from the natioal guard came to take us through a bunch of team-building activities from 8:30 to 11 am. The stuff we did was stuff that if you heard it youd be like "oh, thats not too hard", but, trust me, theres always a catch. Most of it wasnt difficult--it just took a little thought--and by time we were done, we were all starved. Thanks to Katie (our Social Awareness Comittee director), we had Dominos pizza delivered and we ate at the park. It was pretty great and all. Haha.

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Wednesay and Thursday was Leadership Development Conference for JILG officers at campus of the Oil Belt Christian Service camp in Flora, Illinois. BK (president), Heidi (vice pres), Kim (secretary), Chelsea (treasurer), Alecia (historian), and me (reporter) left with Mr. Sample at 8:15-ish Wednesday morning for Flora. It took about an hour and a half to get there then we got a picture with the JILG banner, settled in, and got a tour of everything with Mr. Sample as our guide. Fast forward through lunch and the slightly boring welcome ceremony, we were split up into our officer groups and wisked off to do activities. All six of us had a very different experience because not all groups had the same leader or did the same activities, but for me, i am glad of the group i was in and the leader of the group.

Our group leaders name was Rob and he explained to us that he was an assistant minister at an area church, and everything that he said to us and everything that he did reflected that. The first few activities we did were get to know each other activities, to learn each others names, then we did a few trust activities. When that was done, we went to do a ropes course through the woods. We had to overcome different obstacles, and it was very physical and challenging. There was a large cable spool hung on a bar between two trees about six feet off the ground that we all had to get over to the other side. There was a 10(-ish) foot high wall we had to all get over. There was a swining log between two trees we all had to balance on. There was a wire between two trees we had to walk along.

To keep the morals of my experience short, sweet, and to the point, i learned that its okay to trust someone. If they say you can trust them then, until they disprove that statement, you can. I also learned that im stronger than i think. I basically pulled myself over the top of that wall. I didnt realize i was that strong, but i am. I told myself i could do it, and i did. But i also learned you cant always do it on your own. Sometimes you do need help, and its okay to accept it when its offered to you. As long as you are okay with yourself and who you are and you know your limitations, everything will work itself out. Maybe not the way you wanted it to, but God has a plan and it will work itself our how HE wants it to.

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Ill forego you all the rest of this blog--chores and work are boring, and my writing is not in the interesting stages yet--but ill leave you with one last (amusing) story...

My friends and i were standing in front of a fire exit when the security guard came over and and said "youre blocking the fire exit. Did he think that if there was a fire, i was not going to run? If you are made of a flammable material and are able to run, you are never blocking a fire exit.

Much love.

<3-possum