by Shannon Hoyt

Created on: November 26, 2008

In our day and age one seldom encounters a person who is truly searching for wisdom. This is primarily because wisdom and knowledge are so easily confused. But they are not the same thing. Knowledge tends to center merely around one's mental capacities - deduction, reason, accumulation of facts and statistics - while wisdom in its ripest form spans across all kinds of learning including, but not limited to, the mind, understanding within the spirit and emotional maturity. It even sometimes manifests itself in the social nicety we know as tact. Wisdom, out of all of mankind's avid pursuits, is the most worthwhile and beautiful. If you are someone searching with all your heart, your search will not end here, but there are a few primary elements that can get you of to a solid start.

First of all, understand that you are NOT wise and you never will be. Not really. This is rather a difficult pill for some to swallow, but the fact of the matter is that for us so-called Homo sapiens, wisdom is something to be attained and not a state of being. So suffice to say, you never will BE wise, but you can attain wisdom or better yet, simply add wisdom to your being.

Secondly, keep in mind that a sincere pursuit of wisdom can be enlightening, cleansing and defining but it is not always FUN. Wisdom calls us to hold ourselves accountable and truth has a brutal way of showing us clear reflections of who we really are inside.

The next thing is to throw off any and all previous self inflicted notions that the Bible is out to get you and crack one open to the book of Proverbs. Now, understandably, this may be easier said than done. What may help you is to know that while the Bible may be "God breathed," God was also smart enough to know that man would need the perspective of our peers to comprehend his words. So Proverbs was written by your average, run-of-the-mill, Joe with his hand in the cookie jar. Solomon was not a saint by any stretch of the imagination, which makes him an even more likely candidate for real wisdom and understanding. This guy knew what life was about.

The previous step should promptly be followed by actually reading Proverbs. That doesn't mean skim through it or glance at a few random verses while twiddling your thumbs, texting or watching re-runs of The Office. It means honestly sitting down with the intent of meditating on the words and their meanings, and making a real effort to follow through to the end. Even if you can only devote enough time to accomplish this over several months, the persistence pays off.

Also try praying as you tackle Proverbs. When you think about it, it makes a lot of sense to ask for some insight and discernment from the guy who inspired all this wisdom.

Then when you feel like you're about to keel over because your brain and/or (hopefully "and") spirit just can't handle anymore, take a break, walk away and come back to it with a fresh perspective. A big part of learning to acquire wisdom in life is by actually living that life and living out the wisdom you have so far uncovered.

Finally, hold on to the things that you learn. Wisdom is a precious thing and the hard work required to gain it is not something you should wish to throw aside or easily relinquish. Hold on to wisdom and it will never let you down.

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