True Learning.

there was a time when i used to celebrate the irrationality, the unpredictability, and the rebellious nature of the avant-garde. there was a time when i used to idolize the confidence in the eyes of picasso. there was once a time when i tried to be like one, when 'a picasso' wasn't me, who i am, and my role in this world. i now begin to celebrate the goodness of reason and thinking. i learned the hard way the lesson of the difference between empty creativity/art [creativity/art for the sake of creativity/art] and creativity/art rooted in maturity and wisdom [the true creativity/art].

i often tell my friends that God defies culture, philosophy, history, and anthropology, because He is timeless, universal, and thus true. how dangerous this is. and how wrong i am. how wrong i was to put God in a little box of dualism of the sacred [the religious & the good] and the real [the evil..?]. my god was so small that he couldn't even be there in my daily life. i realize that once again i have underestimated God, underestimated life.

i want to be a wholesome and wise Christian.

"Wisdom is not the comprehension of abstract principles or profound truths so much as it is the capacity to respond to the developments around us with ingenuity and to become mature emotionally through difficult setbacks and disappointments. ... In the pursuit of wisdom we seek deep understanding so that we will be people in whom there is both depth of conviction and focus that is not self-centered or superficial. The pursuit of wisdom is eminently practical, for a wise person longs to make a difference. ... Finally, the pursuit of wisdom integrates mind and heart. A wise person is interested in knowledge that informs the whole person and enables us to live in truth. Wisdom is not cerebral or analytical; it includes our emotions and our bodies. To grow in wisdom demands that we learn to think and act holistically."
-from Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith.

perhaps being courageous is not about having the guts to be counter-cultural for the fun of being rebellious against the "norms" of the soceity. life is not about having fear, darkness, craziness, and abnormal lifestyle and personality as the source of one's creativity, art, confidence, passion, and 'wisdom', as some artists boast. perhaps a truly courageous and wise person is someone who can respect and obey the authorities, though as plain and uninteresting as it sounds..

so who is my role model now?

to learn.
learning.
true learning.

i think one of the keys to wisdom and true learning comes from humility, which comes from knowing who God is and who we are in comparison.

to truly learn means to be humble enough
-to put God and others above ourselves with a sense of self
-to open our eyes, ears, minds and hearts, and to listen
-to be able to take criticism, to admit our mistakes, and to amend them

i want to be be a person who can truly learn.

"The genius of good mentoring is the capacity to bring hope and encouragement, believing in people so that they can learn, grow, and embrace all that they are called to be. The genius of learning from a mentor is found in a posture of eager attentiveness that reflects a longing for wisdom and a longing for learning. But because some of us are so confident in our own wisdom or are incapable of saying that we do not know all we need to know, we never know the joy of being mentored."
-from Courage and Calling by Gordon T. Smith



-kim.