In both directions of the lens…

Some days are better remembered from the other side of the lens.

I’ve recently learned a few things about myself and about life. (Don’t roll your eyes yet!)

There have been a lot of talks around about “wisdom” and “how you get wisdom.” Its fascinating to hear people from all sorts of diverse backgrounds come up with all these views on wisdom and the meaning of life.

No, this is the meaning of life! No, that’s the meaning of life! No, this is wisdom! No, that’s wisdom!

Okay.

I’ve always just thought the wisest people were those knew when the rules did not apply and used their wisdom to discern when that moment came. And its why I am doubtful about young people claiming to be “wise” because I really think you need to live through a whole lot of those moments to know. Only experience and learning from others tells you that.

And, like any thing that can be known “expertly” they say it takes 10,000 hours of experience to be masterful at anything: piano, skateboarding, photography… why not wisdom?

So, 10,000 hours of living? Does that qualify? Hmm… I think its more like 10,000 hours of decidings. Means you actually sat and thought for significant amounts of time about a decision. Conscious decisions. The pros and cons, the consequences and benefits.

I, like any normal person, have made some ridiculous decisions in my short little history. But I have learned something unique about life – it has been coming to a thesis recently, in all actuality. While I claim no wisdom, I do know what works for me:

Life is always better when you live it consciously. The stupid things and any regrets are due to going with the flow, letting myself be sucked up into the moment or whatever little cliche you can put on it.

When you are living life being swept to and fro not giving much time to the decisions you make, that is not gaining wisdom. That is just accumulating mistakes.

This recent summer, my months overseas are never bad for me. Long distances, new experiences, new people – they’re all day after day of time to think, to be conscious, never letting myself be sucked up in a moment or washed over as a surfer riding a wave. Riding the wave of life, right? The most stupid cliche in the world.

And it might kinda suck, actually. I mean, you might actually have to make the conscious decision to distance yourself from certain people, change your attitude in certain situations, or stop doing things you once did. Its a process.

But above all, make the decisions consciously. Own your mistakes. Your best ally is the truth. And always live with the hope that there are people in the world who really want to live intentionally, too.

I consider it a blessing to know a few. 🙂

Anyways. This stuff fascinates me. I don’t mean to get overly verbose, just wanting to share some thoughts accumulating over the past few months.

But, I may be wrong. Stay tuned…
-Noah D.

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PS: I did take a load of photos today. This one is just a silly one, just to prove I did take one for my 365 Days. Yet another example of attempting to live intentionally, I guess.