Life
is complex, and living is never simple. That is why you need the art of living
well. Given that life is short, make the best and the most out of your life, as
well as avail yourself of every opportunity to create your own box, instead of
just th if inking out of the box. The art of living well is to create a life
uniquely yours, an ideal life that you wish to live. To achieve that end, you
need the art of living well.
To stay younger and healthier for longer, you need
wisdom in the art of living well, which has everything to do with your mind.
First of all, are you wise or intelligent? Both or
neither? Or you simply don’t know?
Now, ask yourself another
question: "Are you happy?" If your answer is an indisputable
"yes," then most probably you are wise and have wisdom in the art of
living well. If your answer is not definitive, maybe you are intelligent, but
not necessarily wise.
First of all, there is a difference between
"wisdom" and "knowledge," and hence a distinction between
"wise" and "intelligent." Knowledge is information; being
intelligent is being knowledgeable. Wisdom, on the other hand, may have more to
do with "distilling" and "internalizing" knowledge; in
other words, the selection and application of relevant and appropriate
information for a specific purpose. Therefore, mere accumulation of knowledge
does not necessarily enhance wisdom, or make an individual wiser for that
matter. Wisdom in living is the art of living well. To live well, you must
cherish and nourish that wisdom.
Unfortunately, how to live one's life is never
formally taught in school. If you are lucky, your parents may have given you
some advice or their living examples may have shed some light on how you should
live your own life. Most of us simply follow our instincts; or, worse, drift
along, letting the turnout of events in our lives guide us along the way. But
that is not true wisdom in living.
Does wisdom in the art of living well have a
blueprint? Unfortunately, not! The reason is that every individual's life is
uniquely his or hers; as such, there is no blueprint for the art of living
well. Remember, nobody can live your life for
you, because it is your life, and you
must live it the way you choose. But you may want to know "how" to
choose, and "what" affects your choice.
Wisdom in the art of living well is about
understanding that in life you have a choice. As a matter of fact, life is all
about choices. But what determines your choices? Your life choices are based on
your life experiences. In other words, all your past and present experiences
play a pivotal role in how you are going to live the rest of your life. Wisdom
in the art of living well is the capability of the mind to discern your
perception and the processing of those experiences. No two individuals have the
same perception of the same experience; it is always the half-glass-empty or
the half-glass-full to a greater or lesser degree. Given the critical
importance of mental perceptions in determining life choices, one of the
essentials of wisdom in the art of living well is mind power--the ability of
the mind to control its thinking process and hence its thoughts. Remember, you
are the sum of your thoughts, and your thoughts become who you are and what you
choose. In other words, your thoughts become the raw materials with which you
fabricate your life—that is, creating your own masterpiece.
Surprisingly,
we have never been taught how to think. When we were young children in the
early phase of growth and development, we were exposed to the world around us
through our five senses; then our minds began to process what we perceived in
our experiences, generalizing and interpreting it according to our mental
input, and applying it whenever and wherever we thought appropriate and
applicable. Over the years, these perceptions and experiences have become the
substances or raw materials with which we think. But this may not be
"how" we should think. The human thoughts are like an unbridled
horse, which must be tamed first before it can become a stallion. Therefore, it
is important to know how your mind works, so that you can empower the mind to
work for you instead of against you.
For
more information, visit my website: Wisdom in Living.
Stephen Lau
Copyright©
2018 by Stephen Lau
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