It’s no secret that the occasions we’re in are…chaotic. Many people are at an vital crossroads: we are able to return to sleep and neglect what we’ve seen or we are able to reply the decision and begin making change now.
On this submit, I wish to provide you with a deep dive right into a essential part to answering the decision to alter: knowledge.
So, let’s begin with the fundamentals: What’s knowledge? How does it differ from information? And why the hell must you care?
Knowledge ≠ Information
I imagine one of many causes many people wrestle by means of laborious occasions is as a result of we over-prioritize information on the expense of knowledge. That is true in our collective tradition, {our relationships}, our skilled lives, or our non secular development.
We love statistics and info (information), however we don’t take the time to metabolize what we’ve taken in (knowledge) attributable to lack of steerage or concern. We perceive what must be completed however wrestle to actually stay it or see the way it’s related to different components of our lives.
To be clear, there’s nothing unsuitable with information. It’s a essential part of our lives and our therapeutic. It’s simply not the top of the story.
Linear Versus Holistic
Information is nice for separating and dividing issues into lessons and classes, and has a reasonably linear nature. Knowledge, nevertheless, has a sense of wholeness or naturalness. Knowledge understands every part as interconnected and “inter-consequential” — that’s…most likely not a phrase, however hey.
Knowledge is Embodied
In my definition, information is strictly mental. It’s the info. The science. It’s our aware thoughts doing what it does finest. However knowledge? Knowledge is the results of embodying your information. Of turning expertise, pondering, and feeling into one thing you might be for the remainder of your life.
A superb instance of all this may be present in the truth that I not too long ago turned a guardian. I can’t inform you the variety of books and articles on parenting I learn, the variety of folks I listened to about fatherhood. The recommendation, the warnings, the info. Lots of information.
However till I turned a father — till I skilled the thriller of changing into a guardian and simply how wild that’s — it was simply information. None of what I learn or listened to ready me for that! And daily, what I be taught is being reworked into lived expertise.
Knowledge is Irrational and Mysterious
I imply thriller within the sense of “unknown” but additionally “unknowable”. The intuitive aspect of knowledge typically appears irrational to the aware thoughts. For instance, when your intestine kicks in and says, “one thing’s up” or “this isn’t sitting proper”, regardless that every part appears high quality.
You may by no means know precisely how or why your instincts kicked in, however the voice saying it is best to belief that intuition, that’s a type of knowledge speaking.
The character of knowledge is one thing philosophers, writers, and extra have been speaking about for a very long time. To assist us navigate our radically shifting work, I feel it’s time we started reaching extra for knowledge from one of many foremost cultural sources of it: elders.
And by elders, I don’t simply imply “outdated folks”, however relatively folks keen to embody and share knowledge.
So! I’ve acquired homework for you. I would like you to replicate on two issues:
- What information have you ever been working to metabolize? To embody?
- Who may have the ability to help you on this space, or has already metabolized that information?
These two questions have the potential to start a journey in the direction of actual, embodied knowledge.