There are two kinds of intelligence: one acquired,
as a child in school memorizes facts and concepts
from books and from what the teacher says,
collecting information from the traditional sciences
as well as from the new sciences.
With such intelligence you rise in the world.
You get ranked ahead or behind others
in regard to your competence in retaining
information. You stroll with this intelligence
in and out of fields of knowledge, getting always
more marks on your preserving tablets.
There is another kind of tablet, one
already completed and preserved inside you.
A spring overflowing its springbox. A freshness
in the center of the chest. This other intelligence
does not turn yellow or stagnate. It's fluid,
and it does not move from outside to inside
through the conduits of plumbing-learning.
This second knowing is a fountainhead
from within you, moving out.
This sounds so contemporary, as if it were written today. Thanks Ruth.
ReplyDeletethis reminds me of something i read in the papers a few days ago. i don't remember who said it, but it went something like this, "when people say i'm street smart, not book smart, all i hear is, i'm imaginary smart, not real smart."
ReplyDeleteYes, Elisabeth and Rima Kaur, this is so now, in more ways than one. Letting my own soul be my guide.
ReplyDeleteThe older I get, the more I'm interested in the inner spring-source rather than 'plumbing-learning'.
ReplyDeleteabsolutely true and within the realm of my own experience. the good teachers bring this into their daily relationships with their students! steven
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