The Art of Worldly Wisdom

The Art Of Worldly Wisdom

By Madison Nef

Over the past 2 days, I read a wonderful and very inspiring book given to me by my Dad. It is not only one of his favorite books, but now- also one of mine. It’s called ‘The Art of Worldly Wisdom’, and it was written by a man named Baltasar Gracian. The book is essentially a wide-spread collection of life lessons: very, very powerful life lessons.

While there are countless things to be learned from this amazing book, I wouldn’t be able to fit them all into this simple 2-page paper, so I just want to touch on some of the lessons that really struck me and that I’d like to apply to my life.

#140 – Find the good in a thing at once.
This is the advantage of good taste. The bee goes to the honey for her comb, the serpent to the gall for its venom. So with taste- some seek the good, others the ill. There is nothing that has no good in it, especially in books, as giving food for thought. But many have such a scent that amid a thousand excellences they fix upon a single defect, and single it out for blame as if they were scavengers of people’s hearts and minds. So they draw up a balance sheet of defects, which does more credit to their bad taste than to their intelligence. They lead a sad life, nourishing themselves on bitters and fattening on garbage. They have the luckier taste who amid a thousand defects seize upon a single beauty they may have hit upon by chance.

I think this lesson is one that everyone in the world needs to learn at one point or another. As children, we are often very happy about small and care-free things, and quite oblivious to the negativity going on in the world around us. At one point or another, however, reality gives us a cruel slap in the face and makes us aware to everything- mainly, negativity. As negativity seeps into our lives, we tend to forget about the small joys we once loved and cheered about; taking these as insignificant compared to the trauma we now can see.

Just because we recognize something for what it is does NOT mean we need to disregard small and simple little joys. Gracian is very correct in saying that there is happiness to be found in everything- even something that at the time can seem appalling and sorrowful. My mother’s death is an excellent example of this. At the time of her death, my family was struggling to pay bills and keep a steady flow of money coming in- and since my parents were divorced, alimony checks were draining what little money we had left (due to the divorce and the division of profits and money).

When my mom died, we found a lot of money that we had never known about- enough to keep us going long enough for my Dad to get a solid job and figure everything out. It was a horrible experience for our whole family, her death- but looking back in hindsight, we may not have been able to survive without the extra money. In fact, we almost certainly would have lost our house under the crippling expense of my mom’s medical bills- which thankfully disappeared after her death due to a malfunction in the hospital she was in.

As one of my favorite quotes says- “Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain- but you can’t have a rainbow, without a little rain.”

#147 – Do not be inaccessible.
None is so perfect that he does not need at times the advice of others. He is an in-corrigible ass who will never listen to any one. Even the most surpassing intellect should find a place for friendly counsel. Sovereignty itself must learn to learn. There are some that are incorrigible simply because they are inaccessible: they fall to ruin because none dares to extricate them. The highest should have the door open for friendship; it may prove the gate of help. A friend must be free to advise, and even to upbraid, without feeling embarrassed. Our satisfaction in him and our trust in his steadfast faith give him that power. One need not pay respect or give credit to everyone, but in the innermost of his precaution man has a true mirror of a confidant to whom he owes the correction of his errors, and has to thank for it.

I think that this too is a lesson everyone should learn- and early on in life, too. I will admit, I have trouble abiding by this lesson myself- I am too often headstrong and not looking for the advice of others. However, it is just a matter of pride I think; the thought of not being right is to some extent terrifying. When you put up an argument about something only to realize halfway through that the person you are debating against is correct, and that you’re just being irrational, it can be embarrassing admitting your defeat after such fighting and pressing your opinion.

This is why we should learn to look at things from another’s point of view, and to LISTEN to people if they offer us advice. Anyone who is willing to teach you, you should learn from… and you should also learn to not be afraid to ask for help. My issue lies in the fact that I want to be seen as being able to remember everything, know everything and be able to do things independently- but sometimes, I WILL need help. A great example of this is in karate- I’m very stubborn and I fight like a southpaw, DESPITE my teacher, who has done karate his entire life, telling me not to.

I am just adamant that my own technique will work, and so I completely disregard centuries of fighting technique. That will be stopping… after reading this book, I have learned my lesson and I am going to be more open to help and advice from others. If my dad wants to teach me something or give me a certain book to read? I will read it without question…. Because I struggled and put up a fight about reading this book, and look what I could’ve missed. I highly recommend this book to everyone, and I think it is an excellent read and that a lot is to be learned from it. Take my  advice now, and give it a shot.

Maddie