Pursuing Understanding, Gaining Knowledge, the Value of Wisdom in Our Lives

Episode 5

A Thirty-One Mile Journey

Application of Proverbs Chapter 2

Pursuing Understanding, Gaining Knowledge, the Value of Wisdom in Our Lives

“Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” by Greg Child, has been one of the most life changing quotes of my life.  In this life we will all face challenges.  We will all fail.  We will all want to quit.  We will all lose someone close to us.  We will have some wins in life.  There will be excitement and joy, and there will be tremendous disappointment in our lives.  Somewhere between the bottom and the summit as human beings we learn so much about ourselves, and we learn so much about others as we travel through life.  No matter where we are from in this world, or how we were raised, we all share the emotional roller coaster life presents to us in this life. 

Today, we will explore how the undefined dynamics of perception and perspective distort our understanding, knowledge, and wisdom.  See, our perception of life as we travel through life is determined by factors and circumstances completely outside of our own doing.  Our perception of life begins with a first person, or shooter’s point of reference for each of us.  See, I can view the side of your head, and even the back of your head from my first-person viewpoint, but I cannot see the side or the back of my own head without a mirror.  The nature of perception from a physiological viewpoint is expressed through our sight and vision.  The human brain and the complexity of our brains is dynamic and fascinating beyond measure or outcome.  The mind presents an even more complex exploration of perception.  Our experiences, and environment nurture the perception of our minds.  The hard wiring of our brain downloads and stores all information making, just one single human brain more in-depth and complex than any computer ever assembled.

The mind involves all aspects of the human experience, taking into consideration details associated with emotions, character, principles, and our unique and personal understanding of what we believe, why we believe it, and where we learned about our beliefs.  Perception is a complex interplay of interpretation, integration, and cognitive influences, allowing us to navigate and make sense of our world on our journey - “somewhere between the bottom and the summit.”

 Here are three aspects of perception I want to highlight for this podcast:  

First is Interpretation: The brain and mind use past experiences, knowledge, and context to interpret our boundaries, about what groups, or types of people can be trusted, and who should be avoided and sometimes who is undeserving of dignity, who to trust, or stay clear of.  The source of our learning plays a significant role in shaping our thoughts, therefore playing a profound role in families, communities, and even our country, about who is worthy of being trusted as an authority figure, “Somewhere Between the Bottom and The Summit.”

American history and the interpretation of our history is a true journey, “From Wounds To Scars To Beauty Marks.”  It is difficult to face the ugly details of history, and it is amazing to have lived outside of this country and feel a sense of honor for America.  No matter where Americans stand in their unique interpretations of our history, there is no avoiding the fact that it is difficult to navigate the darkness of reaping what has been sowed, because of debts not paid for a job well done by slaves.  It is wise to celebrate and honor the offspring of the American slaves.  The African American has been a great friend to America.  This is a fact.  It is also a fact that “Somewhere Between the Bottom and the Summit,” that America is great.  America is not beautiful simply because of what hides in our history.  America is beautiful because beauty marks were once wounds that turned to scars, and now give character to Her historical struggles. 

Next is Integration: Perception is not just about individual senses; it involves integrating information from multiple senses to form a cohesive understanding of the environment. Authority plays a significant role in how wisdom is applied in our life journey, “Somewhere Between the Bottom and the Summit.”  I am so grateful to my amazing family, and the love that was poured into me growing up.  What my family lacked in money; they made up for in love.  As a young black man growing up trying to navigate my life’s journey, their love was not enough to achieve, and avoiding every negative statistic society has  presented my entire life about young black boys who grew up in my circumstances.  As many of you know, I am not who I am without the great influences of amazing people who have believed in me, both encouraged me, and held me accountable when life was challenging.  The diverse experiences of great people make up some much of how and why I view the world through a lens of perception that refuses to leave out any of the details.  I am a blessed man.  These people saw my depression.  My anxiety.  My insecurity.  My shame, but always integrated themselves in me in a way that allowed me to cultivate the character to reach my potential.  I am forever grateful.  The environment to succeed was created for me to succeed. 

The most important factor that changed my life was not the environment that was created for my success.  The tutoring, rides home, or to school.  The biggest factor was that I was able to discern the perception of how all of these wonderful people believed in me.  Once I knew I was believed in, no one had to hold me accountable.  I was never going to be late for a tutoring session, workout, practice, or my job at McDonalds.  Belief goes a long way.  Belief is the foundation of trust.  Belief will allow someone to make a mistake but know deep down they are better than the behavior.  See, once we learn to believe in other Americans then, and only then we will share the same perception of what it means to be patriotic.    

Third are Cognitive Factors: Factors such as expectations, beliefs, and emotions can influence perception. Our prior knowledge and experiences shape how we interpret sensory information, potentially leading to different perceptions of the same stimulus. How we think influences what we perceive as valuable wisdom.  How, and what we think about others, and groups outside of the groups we claim, in most cases reflect the information we received about them from a young age. 

On a trip to a basketball tournament, my son in the 7th grade, expressed to me how annoyed he was with his classmates regarding the presidential election.  He was being pressured to share who his parents were going to vote for.  Well, that was going to be very difficult for him to do considering we do not discuss any political issues in front of our children.  I have three kids and we have three letters from different two presidents, from opposite political parties on our fireplace.  As a family we have much we will need to work on over the years, but speaking bad about political leaders in our home won’t be one of them. 

Proverbs 9

Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path.” The culmination of seeking wisdom leads to an understanding of moral values and the ability to discern what is right, just, and equitable in life. 

Though our life journey “Somewhere Between the Bottom and the Summit,” will have challenges, the hope is that our experiences lead to wisdom in hopes that our footprints leave guidance, and understanding for those who will travel a similar path after we have completed our purposeful mission in this life. 

I’m Dr. Octavious Bishop, and thank you for joining the “From Wounds To Scars To Beauty Marks,” podcast.