Wisdom means "to see" or "to know". It does not mean knowing facts or having an opinion. Wisdom is uncovered by being present enough to perceive the essence of your whole experience. This wisdom will help you attend to what matters in your life and understand the meaning of your life's changes. The practice of moment-to-moment PRESENCE is key. Seeing essence; knowing wholeness.
I draw prayer round me like a dark protective wall, withdraw inside it as one might into a convent cell and then step outside again, calmer and stronger and more collected again.
As life becomes harder and more threatening, it also becomes richer, because the fewer expectations we have, the more good things of life become unexpected gifts that we accept with gratitude.
Ultimately, we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it toward others. And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there will be in our troubled world.
~ from AN INTERRUPTED LIFE by Etty Hillsum, thanks to Liz Stewart
