Intelligence
image: retro nerd
About happiness, it’s a state of mind. A self fulfilling prophecy that has little or no bearing upon external factors. It’s a strange, subjective place. The kind of place that summons images of Ingmar Bergman films and madmen laughing in the snow.
They do that because their own state is quite at odds with their situation. The art of living a fulfilled life is to marry the two states, internal and external, as closely as possible. The word is congruence, to have congruency in one’s life is a worthy and noble objective.
A wise man once said to me that true intelligence is knowing one’s situation at any given time. It is not about academia or even the school of hard knocks, it is the clear and certain knowledge of one’s situation. I know that I am a fool, lost in a structure of huge and awesome complexity. I also know that my life is sustained, supported and augmented by extraordinary grace and richness.
Awareness of it is like synergy. A man can lift, say, 100 lbs. His friend can lift 100lbs also. Yet together they are capable of lifting 300lbs. There is a third and empowering force created by their co-operation, their working together. I believe that the Universe is like this. I do not want to get lost in the detail but suffice it to say that a human being who is aware of their situation and is open to the influence of the Universe becomes enhanced thereby.
They are capable of a far greater range than if they perceive themselves as being isolated and cut off from that which sustains and empowers them. The devil, as the saying goes, is in the detail. When we become enmeshed in the minutiae of our own situation it becomes like a fog that traces our very being, a haze and a confusion. Did you ever see Enter the Dragon? Bruce Lee breaks off from his meeting with Mr Braithwaite to attend his student, Lao. The index finger is respectfully but firmly raised and the explanation ‘It is Lao’s time’ is given.
Bruce Lee points and asks Lao if he sees it. Lao, playing the stool pigeon, dumbly asks about the finger whereupon Lee slaps him on the head with the admonishment, ‘Focus on the finger and you will miss out on all that heavenly glory.’ And this is profound, this is esoteric in the movie; in the world this was Bruce Lee hinting at the keys to the kingdom. Indeed certain sources have suggested that Bruce Lee was killed for pulling the curtain too far back, but that’s not for here, that’s a conspiracy theory for another place.
This is our situation. Focus upon the detail, miss out upon the bigger picture. You are familiar with the saying, ‘ X couldn’t see the wood for the trees’. The Universe is our home, it is the place we were built to handle, to deal with, yet so often the wit and faculties of an individual are poured into bouts of profligate navel gazing. Surrender to the synergistic dialogue between ourselves and the Universe, draw strength, energy and inspiration from the certain knowledge that there is something greater between ourselves and the ultimate answer than we are yet capable of perceiving.
Because we do not see it does not mean that it does not exist. Love the mystery, love the enigma, it cherishes us and welcomes us as children of its purpose. If you are not inspired by this, you may be lost already.