If I were a wise man

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If I were a wise man

 

     …More important than being rich--Reflections after making some serious mistakes...

 

If I were a wise man

I would try to see the things to which I am blind

If I were a wise man

I would wait and not act in haste

 

If I were a wise man

I would try to see all sides of an issue

If I were a wise man

I would not be so easily influenced

 

If I were a wise man

I would stop to think about what I value

If I were a wise man

These would be the things I don’t forget

 

If I were a wise man

I would try to see the repercussions of my actions

If I were a wise man

My life would be lighter and with fewer regrets

 

If I were a wise man…

 

 

©2012 Richard Puetter

All right reserved

Reviews

[alanwgraham]

There is a problem I see with this Rick and that is that wisdom has not been defined. Is wisdom to be taken as a weighing up of the facts and coming to the best outcome? Apart from our intellectual powers which we use to come to decisions in a logical way we are also human and driven by irrational emotions. Should we give money to a beggar - logically the answer may be no, but our emotions may say yes. Having said that I would choose to have empathetic wisdom!
Thought provoking as ever.
All the best.
Alan

[Shaquana Adams]

This is a really good what if poem. It definitely spoke to me. Very nicely penned Rick ^-^
-QuanaWana

[Lydia Shutter]

Introspective and wise, your words are so honest. A powerful write, Rick. Indeed, wisdom is more important than wealth. Lydi**

[TrimarcoRansome]

But wisdom only comes from venturing into the world and feeling for yourself, Hindsight is such a wonderful thing!...And a Rodin! My all time favorite, I sit for days in the V&A museum and drink in his work. Superbly written poem, just as expected.

[Great Aunt Astri]

Very good. Indeed, what if!!!!!! I think living life brings on a certain amount of wisdom, mainly by learning by our mistakes! I like the way you end your poem with the single open ended line and a few dots.... I think we should all contribute a verse!

[Holly Mason]

If I were a wise man....I wouldn't of had all the experiences that taught me in the first place ...sorry that is what popped out first
like the thoughts you have shared
without tests we would not know who can keep their , our, we heads above water...
this is a thought provoking write, truly
thank you for sharing

[jacob erin-cilberto]

we try to be wise and sensible...but we are human...and humans think and react and do...

we all live with regrets...but hopefully we also have some pride in whatever it is we have accomplished along the way...

another very insightful write...simple in such a way that it becomes complex as we take the journey.

[Abdul Aziz]

The words of a wise man. I like the simple style of writing you've employed.
I would like to state a few things, though. "I would try to see all sides of an issue". Yes, of course, that is the wise thing to do, but I once caught myself in depression by seeing all sides of issues and not adhering to any. I then realized that there has to be a central philosophy with which issues can be judged or measured. It may just be me, but I find that indecision plagues me if I do not associate myself with a central philosophy.
"My life would be lighter". Is it true that life would be lighter? Maybe it is. Maybe wisdom is seeing all sides of things and choosing the right side by dint of knowledge and experience. Maybe it is knowing that sadness and world weariness are a part of life, and that the nature of one's self should be allowed to rise above them.
Thank you once again for sharing an excellent poem!

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Abdul

I generally respond to reviews privately, but you bring up a great issue, i.e., that of using a central philosophy so that one doesn't get lost in judging in any particular conundrum in life.

Yes, this is at the core of things. When does one use pre-existing belief systems to judge and when does one completely overthrow a belief system because it doesn't seem to work for a particular situation. This is alway a most important issue, and different people have different points of view. As a scientist, I am trained to never hold any point of view in particular high regards. Everything is in question. I fear that this is not a commonly held point of view, however. It should be.

Yes, not having a firm belief system makes it hard. But what can we do? The alternative is getting things wrong. Now there are some principals that we'd both agree should not be overturned, i.e., intellectual honesty, integrity. love, fairness (all sort of the same thing, really). But once that is accepted, I think we can all tell what we should be doing in any given situation.

My best regards,

Rick

[AlexValkyrie]

Very true and very well written. I enjoyed it.

[Augustus]

All the words ring very true. Indeed, if only we would all abide by them! The repetition of the line "If I were a wise man" builds a solid foundation on which you can build your words of wisdom. I also like the way the line ends.. inviting the reader to keep adding to the list of wise things to do....
On a critical note, I feel that the poem needs a bit more poetic charm. For instance the line "I would try to see all sides of an issue" is very prosaic. I'd suggest decorating it.
Otherwise, I like it. Thanks!