With access
to almost all the knowledge that is available to humankind in our phones, we
can look up hundreds if not thousands of recipes for cakes. We can watch countless YouTube videos on how
to bake a cake. But the thing is it
isn’t until we have actually try to do it ourselves, until the we apply the
knowledge, that we begin to gain the wisdom needed for successful baking or really
anything. And as I have learned, even
when I do something over and over again on my own, I still may not gain the
wisdom I seek. I am still seeking pancake wisdom.
With
knowledge at our fingertips, you would think we would become increasingly wise,
capable of more and more achievements than ever before. And to some degree, there is accuracy in
that. I can tell you that I would never
have found where the Prius engineers put the battery that starts the car
without a YouTube video. With this
knowledge I was able to replace it.
Possessing knowledge sometimes isn’t enough. We need to apply it. And when applying it, sometimes we need to
listen to someone—or a lot of someones—with a different perspective or perhaps different experiences that can
help us grow, understand, and perhaps become a little wiser.
When I was
in my late twenties, I decided to build a wooden shed in my backyard. I went to Home Depot and bought the plans,
ten pages of mimeographed directions, a pallet of wood, a circular saw, a
hammer, and a bag of nails. A truck delivered the wood on my driveway, 2x4’s
and plywood, and I began to build the shed, but it just wasn’t as easy as
following the directions. I broke 4 wooden-handle
hammers in the process, either while hammering or when trying to pull nails out
that didn’t go in straight. So many nails didn’t go in straight. And the frame
I built didn’t look exactly like the one in the directions. I just couldn’t figure out what I was doing
wrong. Fortunately, my neighbor was watching me go through my many trials. Little did I know, he was a carpenter. Finally, after watching me build my crooked
frame, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He came over and offered me a few pieces
of carpentry wisdom. He showed me the
tools that would make the job easier and more likely to succeed, and told me to
go buy them: a steel hammer and a nail puller, both of which I still have. He also told me that is was okay, if not
essential at times—and implied this might be one of those times--to completely
start over or tear down all or part of what I had built that didn’t fit
together exactly right. He was the one
who taught me to measure twice before cutting a piece of wood—measure twice,
cut once he said over and over again. He was very much my carpentry
Miyagi. I did build the shed, and it
looked very much like this one, and while I learned a great deal in the
process, I am not by any stretch of the imagination a carpenter.
Why is it
that just having knowledge doesn’t make us wise? Well, I have a couple quotes about knowledge
and wisdom I want to explore that might help us unpack this. And maybe offer us some insight.
I use
tomatoes in my Jambalaya. I have used
tomato paste, tomato sauce, sliced tomatoes from a can, fresh sliced roma,
cherry, black, heirloom, beefsteak, plum, and compari tomatoes in my Jambalaya. Each one has a different flavor. Some add to the Jambalaya, some not so
much. And so I continue to be seeker of
tomato wisdom, understanding that while I am exploring through my taste buds, I
am also keeping an awareness of the importance of everyone’s taste bud
reflections. As we share our taste bud
reflections with one another we grow in understanding of each person’s
experience of umami.
The next quote
is by Rock and roll musician, Jimi Hendrix. He said: “Knowledge speaks, but
wisdom listens.” When we are exposed to
or find a certain piece of information that seems interesting, funny, something
that catches our attention, we can play back it back to others or in more
modern terms, open a file and share it, perhaps post it on Facebook. This is just parroting back information; it
is not wisdom. Wisdom is about
listening—taking in information and letting it sit within us, weighing it
against our values, our principles, our ethics and morals, our past experiences
and life lessons.
Lately I
have been listening to people talking about the Coronavirus or Covid-19. I don’t know enough about Covid-19 to speak
with any expertise, and I also realize that I may not ever know everything
there is to know about the virus before it potentially impacts my life and the
lives of those I care about, including all of you. So I have been wondering, should we begin
assessing our pandemic preparedness. I
have talked with my ministerial peers about what they are doing. Some nothing.
Some are assessing their congregation’s preparedness. Some are considering ways to maintain
communal connections if their congregations are unable to gather for a
time. Some are searching for pastoral
words to calm their congregations without minimizing or catastrophizing the
situation. I will ask you to listen and
reflect before taking steps to respond to any future local outbreaks, should
any occur. I know that Covid-19 is on my
radar and I am available to listen to your concerns and feelings. Together, we’ll figure out what—if any—steps
we may chose to take. We just need to
keep calm and remember to wash our hands.
That is applying wisdom to this context.
Isn’t wisdom always about
context? Whether the context is baking a
cake, comparing tomatoes, carpentry, viruses, or building community.
What about
communal wisdom? Wisdom we assess,
affirm, promote, apply as a community.
We come together here to wonder about and makes sense of our beliefs in
community. Unitarian Universalists are
non-doctrinal. We don’t tell others what
they need to believe. Instead, we listen
to and hear the experiences and thoughts of others as they reflect on the
information from their life experiences, their world view, their values,
principles, ethics and morals. What happens when we gather together and share
our knowledge and wisdom with one another?
What communal wisdom rises from that kind of open exchange. One good example of that is our Unitarian
Universalist Principles.
We, the member congregations of the
Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote:
The inherent worth and dignity of every
person;
Justice, equity and compassion in human
relations;
Acceptance of one another and encouragement to
spiritual growth in our congregations;
A free and responsible search for truth and
meaning;
The right of conscience and the use of the
democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
The goal of world community with peace,
liberty, and justice for all;
Respect for the interdependent web of all
existence of which we are a part.
These came about because Unitarian
Universalists from across this country discussed what it is that holds us
together as a denomination, what we believe or believe in, and how we can
describe ourselves to others. It took over 20 years to complete all seven
principles. This was a process of consensus-building, word-smithing, voting,
and ratifying our collective wisdom.
And you know what, there is an eighth
Principle that will be voted on in 2022.
Right now many of our congregations have voted to add this eighth
Principle to the 7 Principles that they already affirm and promote within their
congregations and to the world. Consider
the eighth Principle: “We, the member
congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and
promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse
multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle
racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” This eighth Principle is a result of the
collective knowledge and wisdom of many Unitarian Universalists. The process of
adding this Principle started over 20 years ago.
“Paula Cole
Jones, of … the mid-Atlantic district of the Unitarian Universalist
Association, … developed the idea of the existence of 2 different paradigms in
Unitarian Universalist circles: the Unitarian Universalist 7 Principles and
Beloved Community (deep multiculturalism). After working with congregations on
these issues for over 15 years, she realized that a person can believe they are
being a “good UU” and following the 7 Principles without thinking about or
dealing with racism and other oppressions at the systemic level…She realized
that an 8th Principle was needed to correct this, and talked with Bruce
Pollack-Johnson about some of the components that should be in it. Bruce put together an initial draft in 2013,
and the two of them worked with a group of anti-racist activists … to refine
it. Bruce’s congregation (the UU Church
of the Restoration in Philadelphia) incorporated [this new eighth Principle]
into their Covenant at that time, then in May 2017 formally adopted it for
themselves and recommended that the UUA adopt it.” (from the eighth Principle
of Unitarian Universalism website)
As I said, it is a long process for
wisdom to be ratified by Unitarian Universalists. The question we may ask
ourselves, reflect on together, and ultimately vote on, is does the wisdom in
this eighth Principle reflect who we want to be, how we aspire to act, and what
we choose to promote within these walls and beyond these walls.
I hope you take time to examine the
relationship between knowledge and wisdom through your own lens. Life can seem like a pressure-cooker at times
and deciding how to shop through the store of considerable knowledge at your
fingertips is part of your personal spiritual preparation and, as such, part of
our collective spiritual preparation for a flavorful and sustaining life. Consider drawing on the values and Principles
that you relish as you ingest information and then use the truths to fuel you
search for truth, meaning, wisdom. And
remember to turn to those around you and garnish your truths with their
experiences, perspectives and wisdom. Be
knowledgeable, yes, but be sure to leave a little room on your plate for
wisdom. Because no one gets all the
wisdom, but everyone gets some. If you
listen to the stories, the stories of the people in this Beloved Community, you
will hear it.
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