“Wisdom will come… eventually. You just need to be patient and wait for it.”
A while back I wrote a post on “time in the tomb.”
Time In-Between Death and Resurrection
We are all familiar with the concepts of death and resurrection, but almost always neglect the time in between. In his Four Quartets TS Eliot writes that every beginning is an end, and every end is also a beginning. There is a time to die (metaphorically) and a time to begin once again with a new (and resurrected) life. Such is the history of humankind.
A Brief Sabbatical
Although I have much to say regarding death and resurrection, today I’d like to focus on the mindful transition from old life to new life. I have discovered, almost accidentally, there are occasions that my mind and psyche demand a rest, a kind of sabbatical from the old ways before moving on to my next step.
I have named this in-between time as “time in the tomb.” When done patiently, with no (or few) thoughts about the past nor the future, I have found an opportunity for tidbits of wisdom to seep in through my cluttered and frustrated mind. Greater clarity begins to emerge as my mind rests without the interference of feeling that I must make some immediate decision.
Your World Doesn’t Really Need You to Act NOW
An odd realization of the value of time comes with older age. The older I get the better I understand the value of time spent in deeper pondering instead of my more habitually pathological need to act… immediately. I learn that my world absolutely does not need me to act, no matter the pressure I may feel to do so. In spite of my noisy inner voices, my world has done quite well without me and will continue to do so.
Speaking more practically, from personal experience I like waiting at least one week in the tomb of no direction and no decisions—that is, one week after the death of something valuable in my life. Yes, that is all the time I have needed. One week of clutterless purity of thought has produced for me a clearer sense of reason as to how I might move on.
For me, time in the tomb has been… hmm… restfully productive.
Think about it. Or not.
Try One Week in the Tomb
And Discover Wisdom
Photo courtesy of Wirestock at istockphoto
Such wise advice. Wisdom comes from within and to hear it, we need to be still and open.
Thank you for your continued kind support Pat. Yes. I felt this blog was especially important as well.