The bedrock of wisdom is humility
The wisest people you will ever meet are those who are prepared to admit their own ignorance rather than to pretend to know something they don’t know.
Socrates was like that.
For that reason, Socrates (c.470 BC – 399 BC) has been described as the wisest man in Athens.
Let us all learn from Socrates.
The first step to learning is to admit ignorance!
The bedrock of wisdom is humility
Are you looking to buy a new home in a new neighborhood?
Are you driving around looking at the homes?
Good.
Do that. It will give you a general idea of the area.
But don’t only do that!
Take a slow walk around the neighborhood as well.
By walking around you get to see much more detail. The detail you probably would miss if you just drove around.
I hope you find the home you are looking for!
A beautiful home in the United States.
Years ago I read about some advice that the Royal Air Force in England gave to RAF pilots in 1939, in case they had to bale out and landed in enemy territory.
The advice was very simple.
Always have a plan.
No matter how small – always have a plan.
This simple plan could be just to move from hiding behind one tree to hiding behind another tree.
Why is this advice so good?
This old saying comes to mind.
“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
“Always have a plan” was rock solid advice in 1939.
It is still rock-solid advice today – in any situation.
Always have a plan.
Photo by Richard Loader on Unsplash Thank you.
What would Sir Winston Churchill have said about the Health Workers worldwide if he were alive today?
Perhaps the following?
“The gratitude of every home in the world goes out to all health workers worldwide, who undaunted by the odds, unweakened by their constant challenge and mortal danger, are fighting to turn the tide of the Covid19 pandemic, by their prowess and devotion and by their compassionate care for all its victims”.
(Based on Churchill’s speech in the House of Commons on 20 August 1940. Churchill was praising the heroic role being played by the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain in August 1940, during the Second World War.
Source:
Information about Churchill’s speech obtained on
Below is the ode “To Autumn” by the poet John Keats
Here is a short, fun exercise that will show you what a genius Keats was when he chose words.
I have deleted some words in the ode.
Choose some words yourself. What would you put in?
Have a go and then at the bottom of the post I have printed the original ode with Keats’s words on bold red.
Then, compare your choices with Keats’s choices.
Ode with some words taken out
To Autumn
Season of mists and ……fruitfulness,
Close ……….friend of the ……….sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves …….;
To ….with apples the …..cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To ….the gourd, and ….the hazel shells
With a …..kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think ….days will never cease,
For summer has ……….. their clammy cells.
Keats’s version with Keats’s words in bold red
Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,
Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;
Conspiring with him how to load and bless
With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;
To bend with apples the moss’d cottage-trees,
And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;
To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells
With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,
And still more, later flowers for the bees,
Until they think warm days will never cease,
For summer has o’er-brimm’d their clammy cells.
How did you do?
You can do the same exercise for the rest of the ode.
Enjoy.
PS My late Uncle told me about the above exercise. He learnt it from a teacher in Southern Rhodesia, probably in the 1930s.
We found the gecko on the duvet which is on our double bed.
I captured the gecko by using a glass and then sliding a piece of paper underneath,
Next, I put a centimeter tape next to the glass and took a picture. Really tiny!
Lastly, I put the gecko on the window sill, and off he went.
Free again!
See you again, gecko!
Spoiler alert: I am about to punch light years above my weight!
Let us go.
“Antinomy” is not a word that pops up a lot when we are reading, unless we may be reading about logic, philosophy or theology.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines “antinomy” as:
“Antinomy, in philosophy, contradiction, real or apparent, between two principles or conclusions, both of which seem equally justified; it is nearly synonymous with the term paradox.” See definition
Let us look at some examples of some antinomies. There are apparently plenty of them in the Bible and in Science.
Biblical antinomies are behind “God’s sovereignty vs. free” will debate (compare John 3:16 with Ephesians 1: 11).
In Science, the question is asked: Is light a particle or a wave? Can it be both?
(Take it easy. I warned you that I would punch above my weight!)
So, how are antinomies dealt with?
A humble theologian might say:
“Scriptural antinomies arise out of revealed truth beyond the capability of our finite minds to comprehend. There may be theology above our anthropomorphized understanding of God and His ways that will show that there are not contradictions. I gather this may be the road down which Immanuel Kant may have traveled. To reject Kant’s approach may require Biblical interpretation worthy of a gold medal in verbal gymnastics to resolve Biblical antinomies.”
A humble scientist might say:
“The contradiction between two laws of science may only be apparent. Science may one day come up with an explanation. Perhaps one or both of the laws will be shown to be wrong. Let us keep an open mind,”
An open-minded logician or philosopher might say:
“There may be laws of logic beyond our finite ability to reason which show that there is logic beyond the law of contradiction which states that “contradictory propositions cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time”. The perplexing antinomy may not exist in this higher logic.”
Who knows?
Antinomies are here to stay!
How do you deal with them? Good luck!
Oh yes- Don’t forget my spoiler alert!
Photo by Alex Block on Unsplash
Do not lose height when walking in the hills or mountains.
My late uncle spent a considerable amount of time in the mountains of Yugoslavia during WWII.
Once during the 1950s he and I were walking up large granite hill in the Matopo Hills near Bulawayo in the then Southern Rhodesia.
His advice: When you climb a hill, if possible, take a line that does not go down and then up. This way you will not lose the height you have gained and save energy.
Adjectives describe nouns.
Yes, we learned that long ago!
But did we ever learn, or even realize, that an adjective is also a clue?
It is a clue that gives away the attitude of the user.
For example:
In a battle, the soldiers on both sides fight bravely and refuse to budge.
The TV News anchor says:
“Our troops were resolute; the enemy troops were stubborn.”
On whose side is the TV News Anchor?
Enough said!
Adjectives are clues. They give away plenty about the attitude of the user.
Look carefully at adjectives – they contain clues!
Photo by João Silas on Unsplash
Behold the Light of the world! Our Lord will turn all our dark winters into the blazing glory of His eternal spring. Praise the Lord. Photo: Early morning spring in Hertfordshire, England, a few days ago. April 2020
Photo – Stephen Bartels.
johnbartels.com 