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“Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” – Unknown
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This blog was created in early November 2024. Last weekend was the opening weekend of duck hunting season in southern Louisiana, a weekend filled with tradition.
It is an honor to receive an invitation to hunt the opening weekend of duck season, and a time of camaraderie and reconnection with friends you may only interact with during hunting season.
It is also when duck hunters bring and work the hunting dogs trained year-round for the hunting season. The favored breed for duck hunting is the Labrador retriever.
The Labrador Retriever is a British breed of retriever gun dog. Labradors are the most popular dog breed in the United States, according to the American Kennel Club. Labrador Retrievers are medium-sized, stocky dogs with broad heads, big eyes, and triangular ears. They have a thick, double coat of short, water-repellent fur that comes in a variety of colors, including black, brown, yellow, cream, and white. They also have a bushy “otter tail” and webbed paws that help them swim. Their large and webbed paws also help labradors to navigate difficult water and vegetation conditions in southern Louisiana marshes. Like many larger breeds of dogs, labradors have an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years.
This background information should help with understanding my relationship with “Chief.” Chief is the retriever of a very close friend and a black Labrador retriever. I watched Chief grow and mature. I have periodically hunted with my friend and Chief. Hunting over a well-trained Labrador retriever is a special joy and adds another level of satisfaction to a duck hunt.
Chief is one of those special dogs, but is now nearing the end of his life. Chief’s eyesight has diminished and he is now deaf. Because of these deficits, Chief’s usefulness as a retriever has declined. Chief was ceremonially present at the camp last weekend and instinctively knew that duck season was opening. When he saw men dressed in camouflage on Saturday morning, he whined. His whining became louder and more persistent as he realized he was to be left behind. Chief wanted to be out hunting with everyone else, but his Labrador heart was making promises his body could not keep.
The same mindset rings true for many people. Faced with declining abilities, they attempt to unsuccessfully continue using Fluid Intelligence instead of embracing Crystallized Intelligence. They become the whining dog!
Chief can only do what is instinctive and what he has learned. Chief’s problem is that physical decline has altered his ability to serve his master as a hunting dog. But Chief doesn’t understand he can still be a companion and a friend to his owner. He can show the younger puppies how to retrieve a “dummy.” He can still be of service, just in a different manner.
I recently finished a book called From Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks. In this book, he spoke of two types of intelligence. The first is Fluid Intelligence. Fluid intelligence consists of mastery of numbers, and facts, and the quick recollection of these facts and figures. Most scientific research and discoveries involve fluid intelligence and younger people. The problem is that fluid intelligence declines at an early age and begins to affect job performance in the early 40s. Most people don’t understand that this shift away from fluid intelligence is common for most people. Instead of making course corrections, most people cling to fluid intelligence as the answer to increasing problems. Many workers feel they are losing the mastery of their occupation but continue to try and hold on for a few more years.
Mr. Brooks’ answer came in the form of a shift away from fluid intelligence and a shift to crystallized intelligence. Where fluid intelligence signifies knowledge, crystallized intelligence signifies wisdom. Embracing crystallized intelligence means shifting away from problem-solving and moving towards coaching, mentoring, and advising younger workers.
Recognition of the problem is the easy part. Moving away from a career built on fluid intelligence to embrace a new or changed career built on crystallized intelligence is hard to accomplish. This shift requires a total restructuring of a person’s approach to problem-solving and work relationships.
A different way of looking at these two forms of intelligence would be to say that fluid intelligence begins as a canvas to which colors, forms, and numbers are added. Fluid intelligence is built as knowledge increases (as numbers, figures, and colors are painted on the canvas.)
Crystallized intelligence could be viewed as a large block of stone, where all the extra stone must be removed to reveal the figure hidden within the block of stone. The figure has always been in the stone, and removing all the extra stone releases it. The figure in the stone is the crystallized intelligence we all possess (the wisdom we all have embedded within ourselves that is released by stripping away superfluous information.)
Arthur Brooks goes on to comment about aging: Or consider the wisdom of the first-century BC Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, and philosopher Marcus Tullius Cicero. Cicero is the most important voice from that period that stills exists today: three quarters of the surviving Latin literature from Cicero’s lifetime was written by him. In his last year of life, he wrote an open letter to his son on the responsibilities of an upright person, entitled De Officiis. Much of it concerns the duties of a young person, but he also expounds on the vocation in the second half of life.
“The old . . . should, it seems, have their physical labors reduced; their mental activities should be actually increased. They should endeavor, too, by means of their counsel and practical wisdom to be of as much service as possible to their friends and to the young, and above all to the state.”
Cicero believed three things about older age. First, that it should be dedicated to service, not goofing off. Second, our greatest gift later in life is wisdom, in which learning and thought create a worldview that can enrich others. Third, our natural ability at this point is counsel: mentoring, advising, and teaching others in a way that does not amass worldly rewards of money, power, or prestige.
Shifting from fluid intelligence (knowledge) to crystallized intelligence (wisdom) necessitates a painful shift in thinking. Many people become addicted to success, which makes any changes to attitude or power hard to accomplish.
Mr Brooks states: “What workaholics truly crave isn’t work per se; it is success. They kill themselves working for money, power, and prestige because these are forms of approval, applause, and compliments.”
And from money, power, and prestige flow pride. We are proud of what we have achieved. We relish our success. We bask in the glow of our accomplishments.
Saint Augustine observed that “every other kind of sin has to do with the commission of evil deeds, whereas pride lurks even in good works in order to destroy them.”
Work can become workaholism instead of providing a meaning and purpose in life. Pride can drive Success to become an addiction harmful to ourselves and our relationships with others.
How do we move from knowledge to wisdom?
Mr. Brooks sums up his thoughts with seven words: Use things. Love people. Worship the divine.
He goes on to explain: Don’t misunderstand what I am saying here. I am not exhorting you to hate and reject the world; to live like a hermit in a Himalayan cave. There is nothing bad or shameful about the world’s material abundance, and we are right to enjoy it. Material abundance is what gives us our daily bread and pulls our sisters and brothers out of poverty. It reflects the blessings of our creativity and work and can provide comfort and enjoyment to humdrum days.
The problem is not the noun things, but the verb to love. Things are to use, not to love. If you remember only one lesson from this book, it should be that love is at the epicenter of our happiness. Around the year 400, the great Saint Augustine summarized this lesson as the secret to a good life: “Love and do what you will.” But love is reserved for people, not things; to misplace your love is to invite frustration and futility—to get on the hedonic treadmill and set it to ultra-fast.
Take love up one level and we have worship. The writer David Foster Wallace once said, astutely, “There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” If you love things, you will strive to objectify yourself in terms of money, power, pleasure, and prestige—idols all. You will worship yourself—or, at least, a two-dimensional cutout of yourself.
Once again, this is what the world assures will bring happiness. But the world lies: idols will not make you happy, and thus you must not worship yourself. Take to heart the commands of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy when it comes to idols: “Thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.”
I’ve written several blogs about my struggles with workaholism and perfectionism (see: BEYOND PERFECT: SEEKING A CURE TO PERFECTION and EXPLORING HAPPINESS ON THE LESS TRAVELED ROAD.) My road to happiness started with the realization that everything has a price but also has a cost (see: UNRAVELING THE PARADOX: COMPARING THE COST VS THE PRICE OF HAPPINESS and THE QUEST FOR CONTENTMENT: DOES ‘MORE THAN ENOUGH’ OVERRIDE ENOUGH’?)
It was only when I realized that life is about more than making money and seeking recognition that I was able to begin my journey towards a more fulfilled life. Yes, everyone needs a certain amount of money to live, and money is fungible. Money is not the problem! People incorrectly state that the Bible says money is the root of all evil. That is wrong! 1 Timothy 6:10 in the New American Standard Bible states:
“For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” It’s not money but seeking the illusion of success and pride that money provides that causes problems.
My friend Chief, the whining Labrador, can only lament his position in life without being able to change his status. He can’t move from the knowledge he gained as a pup to become a wise older dog that can continue to be useful in other ways. He can only whine about what was once his life.
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Final Thoughts
Hearing the mournful whining of Chief tugged at my heart. In one way I can sympathize with him. Things that I can no longer do make me sad. But, with the wisdom that comes with aging is the realization that there are still many things I can do and many ways I can still be productive.
Thank goodness that, unlike Chief, I can change and use the wisdom gained during my life to continue to help others.
That’s what this whole blog is about. It’s about having the wisdom and courage to accept change and the pain that can accompany life changes.
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