Wisdom

"When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground." -- Old African proverb often quoted by the blues scholar William Ferris

Wisdom is in the mind of the beholder.
When I was a child I spoke like a child and thought like a child and acted childish.
I respected and revered my father and grandfathers.
But I didn't seek wisdom from them because I was too shy.
Now I wish I'd picked their brains and sought life wisdom.
I spend most of my day in the library garnering wisdom from the sages.
While perusing the latest edition of the "Oxford American" magazine I found this African proverb and it tickled my brain cells into philosophizing about the meaning behind the saying.
No one is sure who originated this very deep proverb.
We all have a wealth of knowledge stored up and we should be adding to it every day.
As Bob Dylan crooned, "He not being born is busy dying."
I just turned 60 and I used to think that was an old man's age.
But I feel like I'm 30. I know from all the walking I do I'm in better shape than my "old man", er, excuse me father in heaven. You were a scholar and I'm a dope compared to you.
I eulogized my father at his funeral and thought I'd encapsulated his life, until I heard the eulogy given by Dr. Francis Christie, a dean from Hendrix College.
I wish I'd kept his eulogy but the theme revolved around where scholarship and memory intersected.
My father was a biblical scholar who attended Yale Divinity School and he prized the memories he collected from his youth.
I don't proclaime to be a scholar but I do have a fantastic memory.
So, when you die what will you be remembered for?
Will a library of knowledge burn with you?
I hope I have at least one book in the library.
When I interviewed for a job at Barnes and Noble I told the manager my career goal was to have an autograph signing party for my first book at that Barnes and Noble.
I'm still striving to attain that goal. But book writing isn't as easy as it sounds.
Another old African proverb fits in here: "Everything has an end, except for a banana which has two."
So to end this blog, we all have an end. We don't know when it's going to be, so we must live each day to its fullest and try and become wiser in knowledge and how we apply it to aiding our fellows become better individuals. Then when we die, we not only have a library burn with us, we've left an indelible mark on others lives who will salute us for our accomplishments and not mourn but praise us.