Cryptic Tales From the Vault -Part 2

The Ultimate Education: Street Wise & College Wise

Wisdom and knowledge are two valuable commodities that operate in conjunction with each other. Knowledge is crucial for making life’s decisions; with the right information, an informed choice can be made, as life is fundamentally a series of choices. Wisdom, on the other hand, is the ability to process the knowledge gained, ensuring that when a decision is made, the right path is chosen.

Street Wise is the knowledge and wisdom gained along life’s winding way. This type of wisdom is highly personal, differing from one individual to the next. It’s learned from life’s lessons as they unfold in the diverse environments of a city or country. It’s a complex education shaped by an individual’s nationality, race, status, and a whole host of other components inherent in group dynamics. At its core, this wisdom often operates by “The Law of the Jungle.” In certain communities, being streetwise can literally be the difference between staying alive and dying young.

Conversely, College Wise refers to the knowledge and wisdom acquired through formal education systems such as schools, colleges, and universities. These lessons are delivered by qualified educators—teachers, lecturers, and professors—as well as by parents and peers. This represents the age-old, honoured method of raising individuals so they can become decent, working members of the human race and active participants in society.

As a survivor of life, it would be a major bonus—an undeniable advantage—if an individual possessed both a Street Wise and a College Wise “education.” This dual foundation equips one to operate effectively across a spectrum of life’s various circumstances.

That’s a profound thought that goes beyond simple appearance! Here is your text revised for improved spelling, grammar, and paragraph structure, while maintaining the author’s philosophical and theological voice.

If Beauty is but Skin Deep: How Deep is Ugly?

Both beauty and ugliness come in different forms and disguises. They exist as an exterior quality of the human form and also as an interior quality of the human soul. We recognize these same traits in the world around us as we observe the animal kingdom, plant life, land formations, and water areas (oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.).

These descriptive words, however, are merely man’s ideas. In the full analysis by the Creator, God Almighty, ALL things He created are beautiful. Yes, sin might have marred His creation, but He has declared in His Word that He will, sometime in the not-too-distant future, restore it.

The Paradox of Planning: A Greater Design

As the saying goes, “If you do not plan, you plan to fail.” Thus, it would seem imperative that one must plan to succeed. However, I’ve also seen and experienced times when all one’s planning amounts to zero, as life seems to have its own plans mapped out for you.

These plans, directed by divine intervention, not only boggle the mind with their character and content—their unravelling of seemingly unconnected steps—but also lead to successful completion and accomplishment. Humanly speaking, one then refrains from planning to allow these wonderful plans to “run their course.”

This aligns with the sayings, “The best laid plans of men and mice oft go awry,” and similarly, “Man proposes and God disposes.” Often, our dreams are only truly realized within God’s greater plan for us.

The Price of Bread and the Shade of Compassion

Life has a variety of shades. One shade that stands out is the imbalanced value systems that are sometimes revealed. One such incident happened many years ago when I saw a situation that “sickened me to the core.” I was in the local tearoom, enjoying a bun and a Coca-Cola, when I witnessed the following.

An elderly gentleman had requested a half loaf of bread, a half pint of milk, and a small block of cheese, for which he produced one Rand for payment. The shop owner, displaying no compassion, informed the old man that it was insufficient. The total cost to cover the items was one Rand and seven cents, and he could only supply him with any two items he deemed as needing more.

Despite numerous requests by the old man to supply all three items for the money he produced, he was met with stern, almost hostile, resistance. Out of compassion, I stepped up and offered to pay the full amount, returning the old man’s Rand. He thanked me and left, a little humiliated by the incident that had just taken place.

What was astonishing was what I witnessed a few minutes later. Still eating my meal, but without any pleasure now, one of the district’s “rich” tycoons stepped into the shop and proceeded to order items such as cigarettes, chocolates, etc., to the value of five Rand or more.

Firstly, these items were luxuries compared to the essentials that the old man sought, and they were worth five times the value. Upon offering to settle the bill, the shop owner refused the payment and told him that it was fine, no need to pay.

Is life fair? I doubt it. Here, I had seen the imbalance of life and man’s evil sense of injustice. The one who needed a “handout” was refused, yet the one who could easily afford it was handed a free meal ticket, so to speak.

Living Beyond the Boundary and Catching the Wind

Attempting the impossible is like trying to catch the wind. On the surface, trying to carry out a task of this proportion is daunting to the majority of people. However, to those who endeavour to attempt the impossible, they normally reach a plateau of discovery or a height of achievement that is both rewarding and satisfying.

This freedom allows individuals to see that they don’t have to define their limits by conventional rules, but can constantly push into new, unexplored territories. Such individuals live their lives on the edge of the unknown, even if it is dangerous.