A lesson in wisdom

Today is one of those days where I need to get quite a few things done, but I feel side-tracked. It's like my mind is in another place, thinking about so many different things. I started reading through Scripture. It's what I do when I can't focus.

I came across an interesting Proverb.

"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." - Proverbs 29:11

I have been known as one to wear my emotions on my sleeve. It is pretty easy to tell what I am thinking, feeling, etc. More often than not, a few probing questions and I'll let out whatever "it" is that's troubling me. Most people would say it's part of my personality. Open, honest, forthright, transparent, etc. I don't despise any of those things, in fact, they are virtues for which I pray to be apparent in my life. However, through reading this Proverb, thinking on it and reading it again, I am wondering where you strike the balance between these two adages.

These are incredibly poignant words. "A fool gives..." leaves no room for a variant interpretation. Yet, "a wise man quietly holds..." It's interesting to note the difference between folly and wisdom according to this text. One is given to unrestraint (the Hebrew means literally, "totality coming out.."). The other resides in moderation (Hebrew - "wise [one] hushes [it] back").

I must confess that I hope to be the wise one, quietly holding back his exploding spirit, exercising strength under control. Perhaps then I might identify with Da Vinci when he said, "Wisdom is the daughter of experience." For if this Proverb is true (and I believe it is), the only way to prove wisdom is by quietly hushing my spirit when I want so desperately to let it out with "full vent."

"Better be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own." - Aesop