Canter Bridge

The lips of the wise are to be admired both when they speak and as they remain silent.

The Bible’s proverbial wisdom sees the fruit of wise words augmented by its scarcity. More often than not, the wise prefer not to opine. A wise man must frequently be asked to offer an assessment, his default mode being silent observation. A woman of proverbial stature will from time to time be mistaken for an introvert when in fact she has simply mastered self-restraint.

On the lips of one who has understanding wisdom is found,
but a rod is for the back of one who lacks sense.
The wise lay up knowledge,
but the babbling of a fool brings ruin near.

Here the wise person’s words are a reservoir of discernment over, to be sought out with reverentially. In contrast the fool’s much larger body part—his back—cries out to be beat upon.

Likewise the wise incrementally adds to his storehouse of wisdom by not spending words at the drop of a hat. The fool’s babbling has destructive consequence. The silence of the wise augurs a time when he will have something to give, even in the lean years when wisdom is scarce.

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Trying to remember the lies we’ve told consumes the available mental bandwidth and renders us incapable of creative, productive, trusting living. Energies that would otherwise be dedicated to service, planning, or doxology are directed at the unsustainable task of keeping untold tales under wraps:

Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but whoever follows perverse ways will be found out.

Simplicity, on the other hand, generates security. The proverb calls it integrity, but it comes down to the chosen non-complexity of living in just one way. With no parallel lives to recall, no tracks to cover, one walks straight and well.

One whistles a tune, content with one’s single path through the woods. There is time enough to notice the leaves emerging, for simplicity does not distract. It frees.

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Wisdom is not so much elusive as hard-won. She cries out in the street far more than she hides in a closet. She is more often mistaken for an unappealing passerby than undiscovered by desperate pursuers. Her beauty is washed out in the neon glare of cheaper glories.

Discovering the life that is in her requires concentration and industry. To the degree that the attention span of her would-be lover is short, she is inaccessible.

Her life and love are costly, demanding that degree of self-sacrifice of which casual paramours are by definition incapable. (more…)

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