Saturday, January 18, 2014

How 'Big' is Wisdom?

Maybe a better question: 'How small'? The Book of Proverbs (30:24) says

"There be four things which are little upon the earth but they are exceedingly wise..."

Not just four things, of course. But four that are on the smaller side of the ledger.

I think sometimes, our human-referenced processes do not always align with universal principles and concepts. This is the 'space between the bars'. The vernacular for dealing with this is an interesting topic on it's own.

In his best selling book Blue Zones by Dan Buettner (fellow Minnesotan who may recall the reflective gear I provided his team back when he was trekking the globe on two wheels) found that in the cultures where longevity and health are exceptional, there is a vocabulary in one form or another; usually simple, that deals with a "sense of purpose".

As Dan discovered in his studies; "The reason for which you wake up in the morning."  He found that the Okinawans, one of the world's longest living cultures, have a word for it: ekee-guy.

Ekee-guy. I love that. I want to be an ekee-guy guy! (Sorry; I'm probably not spelling that correctly)

I would venture to say that those 100+ year-old Okinawans never lost their connection with their nature and their environment and the spiritual connections that weave it all together; large ways and small...while living to experience it a long time.

Blue Zones found that observing a weekly "24 hour Sanctuary in time"; a spiritual Sabbath of one form or another that emphasized nature walks and family time, added years to the average longevity and quality of life for men and women.

We all are on that same web of life whether we are aware of it or not. Our awareness can make a big difference in how we can experience it, use it and find our greater joy from it. I believe it all leads us to the same place.

"...the spider taketh hold with her hands and is in King's Palaces."

And she be one of the four.

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