Got Wisdom?
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- Published: Monday, 27 June 2016 10:41
Tim Boyd – USA
The author, Photo © Richard Dvořák
Recently while visiting one of our Theosophical groups one of the members asked me a question. Obviously it was someone who was not in the habit of asking the easy ones. The question was, “What is wisdom?” As sometimes happens, when called upon to speak to a question which is unanswerable an odd thought dropped into my mind. It drew me back over thirty years.
In May of 1980 the world’s media had descended on the state of Washington. For almost two months the eyes of the world had been turning to watch the unfolding events at Mount Saint Helens. In March geologists had detected seismic activity around the volcano. For over one hundred years it had lain dormant. They had also been monitoring a rapid swelling on the mountain's north side, as molten magma from deep beneath the earth’s surface pressed its way upward. Among the scientific community there was a certainty that Mt. St. Helens was on the verge of erupting. All of the media attention, along with word of mouth had turned the area into a tourist Mecca. Curiosity seekers hired planes and helicopters to fly over the volcano. Before the National Guard was called in to seal off the area, people were driving their families to hike up the mountainside and to picnic at its base. A nervous expectancy enveloped the entire scene.