The sequence of milestones that a person must go through in the path towards maturity and wisdom is something that has always intrigued me. What separates a man from a boy? Where should we draw the red line? Many will certainly dispute the very existence of such a line, but let’s assume, for a moment, that one such line exists and needs to be placed somewhere. Age and physical development, while important, are clearly insufficient to constitute a discriminating criterion on their own.

A few years ago, while watching the movie “The Cider House Rules”, I was gladly impressed by the accuracy of John Irving’s definition of adolescence as “the first time in our lives when we imagine that we have something terrible to hide from those who love us”. Recently, this line of thought was brought up again when I happened to read Alden Nowlan´s beautiful reflection on the subject, according to whom "the day the child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise."

It seems reasonable, at this point, to establish a connection between Nowlan´s statement and the classic Greek aphorism “Nosce te ipsum” (“Know thyself”, as inscribed in golden letters at the lintel of the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi). Wisdom in the form of self-knowledge could then be seen as a necessary condition for self-forgiveness, which in turn would render the self even wiser. The prize? Some might think of inner peace. Others may wonder whether or not wise men have an actual need for prizes of any kind, ever since the wisdom they would have gained throughout the whole journey of self-discovery might already be considered the greatest prize of all.

Read More 2 comments | Posted by Nanauat |

2 comments

1. Ben Ur on 3:23 AM

   Such a wonderful reflection, as the one brought up by Alden Nowlan, deserve to be remembered for good. And let the dictum "Know thyself" be written as well in the lintel of our own house.
   Any prize in all that? Not sure. Maybe accomplishing the categorical imperative. But we must not forget: the aim is the journey, as the one set out to Ithaca.

    
2. Nanauat on 12:00 PM

   Thanks for your comment, Ruben. You are absolutely right. You know me well, my friend. As I was writing the last paragraph I was actually thinking of the ending excerpt from Kavafi’s poem about Ithaca:
   
   “Ithaca gave you the beautiful journey.
   Without her you would not
   have gone out on the road.
   But she has nothing more to offer.
   
   So, if you find her poor,
   she did not mislead you.
   For as wise as you have become,
   and with so much experience,
   you will already have understood what every Ithaca means.”
   
   Actually, now that I think of it, this is hardly surprising since it was you who first introduced me to this poem a few years ago. For that, I shall always be grateful.
   
   Those of you that don’t know the poem can read the whole text at Ruben´s blog, Transversal Truth: The goal is the journey: Ithaca. I promise you that it is definitely worth the click ! ;-)