I hit 68 years in October. There are too many funerals and too much ill-health for comfort these days. The COVID Pandemic, whatever you might think about its true risks (less risky than crossing the street), reminds me of my mortality and how short life is. How about you.
Sure, there are times, such as my mid-teens the to late '20s, that I'd prefer not to repeat; but I can't complain. After all, it is said that failure is the best teacher! I've had plenty of these! I've had a good life, and it sure has been and continues to be action-packed and satisfying.
I realise I have accumulated a wealth of knowledge and experience. This is especially in health, nutrition and fitness from what adds up to more than 46 years of full-time work in these areas.
Knowledge + Experience = WISDOM
I also am acutely aware that time is running out. Funerals and ill-health affecting others serve to remind me of this. I get up at 5.30 am every day, including Sundays nowadays. There is much to be done and not enough time left. I have a sense of urgency percolating my veins.
I ask this question of myself and others:
What's your Legacy?
As we go through life, we all grow knowledge and experience, which is known as wisdom. We connect dots; we see patterns; we are just darned good at seeing and understanding the world compared to our naive selves years earlier.
What makes us unique creatures is our ability to make better meaning of our lives, the world and even the Universe. Not only that, we have this unique ability to package this understanding as "knowledge", communicate it to others and pass it on for the benefit of future generations.
Here's the thing: You and me - all for us - have unique knowledge and experience. All of us! My next two questions to you are these:
Are you going to take all of this knowledge and experience with you to your grave?
Or, are you going to package it up as a tidy parcel and pass it on to the next generation?
I don't know about you, but I'm now playing pass the parcel. I'm entering a new phase of life's forever twisting and turning journey. My focus now is to package up the wealth of knowledge and experience I have accumulated in my areas of special interest, so this can be passed on for the benefit of others.
I'll be doing less hands-on work and more writing. My most promising and challenging task right now is to launch an ongoing webinar series. Here is the first of what will be many:
If you have not signed up for this first webinar yet, please do so. I'd love it if you can attend. There will be a recording of the webinar for everyone who signs up, by the way.
The topics to be covered in future webinars appear to be limitless. The next one will be about tissue acidity, fluid accumulation, and detoxification. Another webinar that must be presented sooner than later is about how to support healing following injury. I'll also be covering health issues such as cancer, dementia, auto-immune diseases, arthritis and osteoporosis. We must do webinars about thyroid disease and adrenal fatigue or burnout. The number of topics to cover is almost overwhelming. I'm open to your suggestions, by the way.
Very good question Gary - what is your legacy? The connection between knowledge, experience and wisdom is, I suspect a little more nuanced than the formula you posit here (Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom). A Zen proverb says: "Knowledge is learning something every day. Wisdom is letting go of something every day." Rumi suggests that "Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." Somewhere in all 3 of those takes, I suspect, is a kernel of what is wisdom. Growing old is no guarantee of wisdom appearing. In fact, as I look at the older generation, I sometimes think the opposite happens. Here is my take on wisdom…