The Wisdomous : Now this is growth!
What a delight it is to return to your home, and it is no secret that I have been missing your space for some time. During the kwibuka28 preparation process. It felt inappropriate to share a newsletter that typically concludes with a light portion of films and music.
I hope you are well!
One thing I have never shied away from is discussing my faith and spiritual beliefs, as they are an integral part of who I am, and this edition comes at a time when Christians focus on Jesus Christ's death.
I realised something during my bible reading that I had never noticed before: there is only one passage that encapsulates Jesus Christ's adult life - 18 years. Only one verse spans his life from the time he was 12 years old and went home from the temple with his parents until the time he began his preaching mission at the age of 30.
In Luke 2:52, "Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and favour with God and all the people," the passage sums up 18 years of Jesus' life.
Jesus was doing what? The focus was on his growth, and if you've read my notes, it means you're doing the same thing.
Focusing on your growth
Let's take a closer look at the verse's reference to four different methods to grow.
Grow in Wisdom: Although "knowledge applied" has long been my go-to definition of wisdom, I prefer the Greek word "sophistēs" which means "a devotion to learning." It is safe to infer that as an adult, Jesus did not attend any formal school, but at that time, like other philosophers like Seneca, who lived in the same years as Jesus, it was an age of seeking wisdom via exploration and accumulating ideas. The adult Jesus was self-taught.
Grow in Stature: Jesus was a carpenter by trade. Because of his occupation as a blue-collar worker and the numerous journeys he undertook during his ministry, Jesus was in excellent physical condition, and he was able to fast for 40 days. The scriptures only mention that he was hungry at the end, not thirsty, thus I'd argue that it was intermittent fasting, not a complete fast (Luke 4:2). Whatever it is, he was healthy and in good physical shape.
Grow in favour of God: Whether you consider Jesus to be the son of God or not, it is undeniable that he put forth the effort to gain favour with God. You'd think that this would be a given, but Jesus continued to feed his spiritual life to have a positive relationship with God.
Grow in favour of People: It all boils down to reputation and belonging to a community. This is primarily accomplished through service and assistance. As much as we like to believe that the opinions of others are unimportant, this is not the case. We can all agree that the opinions of a select few people who matter to us are important.
In a nutshell, that sums up the process of growth:
Keep learning so that you become wiser
Maintain good physical and mental health.
Take care of yourself spiritually.
Be selfless and serve others.
Now, this is growth!
I created
It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks. I shared a few of my musings on Instagram and Twitter. Here are a few tidbits.
I learned
Intent and Behaviour: When we perceive someone's behaviour negatively, we often jump to conclusions and make assumptions about why someone acted the way they did
The wisdomous nuggets
Take your attention away from your problem and the multitude of reasons why you cannot achieve your ideal. Concentrate your attention entirely upon the thing desired.
You are the whole lake, not just the surface, and you are in touch with your depth, which remains absolutely still.
Intentions get confused through communication.
Watching list:
Music
Movies/TV
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Moon Knight
The endgame
The Northman
Until the next one,
stay safe and sound!