Real life, as we all know, is full of polarities: mountains and valleys; highs and lows; peace and war; happiness and loneliness; success and failure.
Though we, Earth’s human beings, are considered to be the wisest and the most powerful creatures on planet, there is a domain of control that we are incapable of. That domain is the control over the physical world. An Earthling like you and I can only control his or her inner self but not external dominions such as the direction to which the wind blows and where the current underneath the oceans flow. When the Earth sways and quakes rig off houses, when the sun blows its fire onto barren lands, we humans get physically hogtied and pushed to derangement IF WE ARE NOT WISE.
Homo sapien is the Latin phrase for “wise man”. The words themselves denote that humankind is called upon to be wise. This is because wisdom is life’s stabilizer.
All throughout history, across all generations, and religious beliefs, wisdom has been greatly valued. For it is the power that establishes the soundness of life regardless of how much of a roller coaster ride this world treats us to. Simply put, wisdom is the one and only factor that makes us stand confidently in the midst of chaos. As the old nursery song goes, “A wise man builds his house upon a rock while a foolish man builds his house upon a sand.”
A wise human being is a connoisseur of knowledge, learning from evaluated experiences, and, above all, listening to the inner voice which we call conscience and intuition. If we are wise, we can face our current situation with hope even as we hear harrowing news daily.
When we wake up we are seeing former vibrant cities looking like ghost towns. We see men in uniform manning the checkpoints. Groceries and markets are full of panicky buyers. People are forced to leave work without pay. Airlines are empty and are retrenching. When expats are being repatriated, fearful rumors are read and seen everywhere. At a time like this, only a person of strong faith and wisdom can make one see the world with a smile of optimism.
During crisis like this, there are some guidelines that might help us live wisely and lead a hopeful life:
- Be objective.
- Obey the mandate of the government.
- Think of protection and preservation.
- Stay calm. Don’t speculate. Never listen to fake news.
- Listen to your intuition (conscience, inner voice, gut feeling)
- Meditate on the goodness of your Creator or your source of life.
- Look back and get encouragement from your past triumphs.
- Get encouragement from biographies of great people.
- Be creative. Have the indomitable courage to create a life within our now limited parameters.
- Exercise and keep moving.
- Be thankful for even the tiniest things, like having a toothbrush and a toothpaste.
- Even though you must have a proactive game plan, still focus on the here and now.
- Above all, have the unshakable faith of the goodness of God and the universe created.
This is a temporary predicament. This is a wake up call for all of us to strengthen our true beings on a daily basis. Our concern is not only to live for the physical wellness, but most importantly to develop our intellect and spirit so that when trials come, we are not at a loss for creativity to face any adversity.
It is better to start a tiny little step to wisdom than not start at all.
A life founded on faith is a life that was built wisely upon a solid rock.
- How to Lead Yourself Through a Crisis – by Mary A. Moore - March 22, 2020
- From Xenophobe to Xenophile – by Mary Angela Moore - June 3, 2019
This is very instrumental sharing on learning to cope with the COVID19 phenomenon when the whole world is in a stand still and people are now leaving in the here and now where goals and priorities have changed and this seeming not to come to and end soon,it makes us put our Hope in the Lord Almighty who is the perfecter of our faith and when our faith is tried,we shall come out victorious in Jesus name Amen
thanks
pastor Antony Shimenga
Kakamega kenya