ON IMPARTING WISDOM

One must refrain from imparting wisdom because such wisdom is always partial rather than whole (or impartial, for that matter). “Part of the truth,” therefore, is not the truth, and is, in this respect, untruthful, though not a falsehood, a lie, which, I would say, require deceitful intention. When I had happened to inquire of the Yijing of what it might have to say, it did say, in so many words, know yourself internally before you express yourself (externally), or, find your inner wisdom before you attempt to express any wisdom to others. It seemed to make the point that, in its opinion (which is that of the universe, after all), I am quite unillumined. I took this in, already instinctively (or even intuitively) having published nothing of my “wisdom” in my blog. I also interpreted myself to be quite Daoistically tuned-in, having already followed the instructions, not even knowing why. And since then, I have been thinking: “One finds one’s place, not by doing nothing, but by trying, making mistakes, and thus further defining oneself.” Knowing this to be utter bullshit, I knew that I wanted to “keep form” by once again doing the wrong thing, since that is “my way” and it just “feels better.” I know “good advice,” and even “true advice,” and have always made the mistake of not following it adequately, which indicates that I at least knew it and yet “took the plunge” anyway: the plunge of “imparting wisdom,” which may be like gas passed as one, having taken the plunge, hurtles towards oncoming oblivion, twisting and turning in the wind.