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Today's
Meditation:
We pass on a lot of information to our young people,
but very little wisdom. We teach strategies for
making money, for performing well in the professional
world, for building bridges and airplanes, for prescribing
medicines, but very few strategies of developing
relationships, compassion, or fulfilling lives. Most
of us, if asked, would say that we would rather be happy
than rich, but most of us don't teach our own children to
pursue happiness instead of wealth because somehow we've
bought into the idea that wealth equals happiness because
safety is somehow involved in the equation.
Do our elders not teach us to be happy because they don't
know how to do so themselves? Do they neglect
helping us to find inner peace and joy in living because
they never were able to find those things
themselves? Do they not teach us to live fulfilling
lives because they don't feel fulfilled? I know that
when I teach, I always try to find positive material
around which to base my lessons, writings and readings
that will get my students to focus on concepts and ideas
that can help them to understand their lives if they but
internalize the messages. It's not that difficult to
do, but I've met very few other teachers who do so.
We need to teach our young people to have a realistic
self-respect, to focus on possibilities rather than
limitations, and to be aware of all the blessings that
they have in life. If we wanted to have a university
of happiness, we would teach them patience, compassion,
love, perseverance, self-discipline, and mindfulness
instead of long division, algebra, the names of the state
capitols, and the names of generals who led battles five
hundred years ago. If we were to do so, we would be
helping them to gain real knowledge rather than helping
them to store information.
Our knowledge can be a tremendous asset. It can help
us in many ways to become happier, healthier, more loving
people. But we must be sure that the knowledge that
we have is truly knowledge, and not just information that
takes up space in our brains but provides no real benefit.
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