Maturity with knowledge is different from just plain knowledge. One can learn, study, read, know a lot of stuff but still not be mature. Being mature comes from the continuous choices of learning from experiences, whether it be one’s own or from others.🏫Just take a look at all the fine examples we see everyday. For instance, look at college-educated people in government. 🗽Their life experiences vary. Have they learned to be mature? Or do they still call others names? Do they bully? Do they disrespect people on a regular basis? How about accepting responsibility for one’s actions? Do they acknowledge mistakes; apologize? Do they put others’ needs on a level of importance or manipulate their situation to benefit from the less fortunate?
Many, many questions can be asked here, but it doesn’t take too many answers from those questions to show how one has either grown in maturity by their interactions with others, or remained childish and, well, downright immature. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but so is insight to bring about personal growth.💡
With experience added to knowledge is where maturity can develop. But not on its own. One has to acknowledge the consequences and take continuous action to attend to the internal problem. Internal, because blaming (external) does not help. Blaming, name-calling, disrespecting - all of that - just leaves one pretending there is not a thing wrong with one’s self: “nothing to see here folks...look how stupid and ignorant and mean and unjust and blah-blah-blah everyone else is!” 👀
That kind of attitude and posturing leaves one in the dark. It takes a lot of courage to take an honest look at one’s self and acknowledge flaws.* Acknowledge. Then accept. And make a choice to work on it. Growing up, becoming mature, isn’t easy. But it’s the “ripe” thing to do! 😀
Choose wisely. Theresa M.
*taking a self-inventory is a very helpful tool. It is step 4 of the 12-step programs (AA, NA):“Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
No comments:
Post a Comment