So Many Answers

Answers Anyone?

People just like us have for generations been looking for answers.

And now in our generation, more than in any other time in history, we have access to all the answers we will ever need in our entire lifetime.

Today, more than ever, everything is instant, we can ask any questions about anything and everywhere we turn we can get up-to-the minute updates on weather, road conditions, accidents, sports, health, stock market crashes, name it you got it.

Today, more than ever, you have multiple options to choose from right on your handheld devices. You’ll get tired just by flipping through the channels. You don't even have to record episodes like we used to back in the day, everything is just available. You can get answers about history, mystery, government, technology, childcare, housework, money matters, what-not-to-wear, what-not-to-eat, what-not-to-say and how to do it.

Today again more than ever, that tiny device inside your purse or your pocket which was meant to be a handy dandy wireless telephone is now your gateway to everything -- the weather, traffic conditions, where to eat, how to go there and what to do to burn off the excess pounds you have gained after you’ve done eating and also what to do next after that.

And we can go on and on and on.

Today, more than any other time in history, you are connected with your phone, netbook, your notebook, your laptop, pc or mac and everything else virtually anywhere and you can get all the answers you want from a variety of sources with an s. Yes it means many answers.

And so it just seems like we can get any answer we want to any question we can think of, even answers to questions we didn’t even know existed.

Overload

And with this information overload, we then tend to tune out the things that we don’t want to hear and gravitate to the ones that we feel comfortable with, the ones that our ears are aching to hear and the ones that justify or gives sense to the things we do and to the decisions we make. We tend to go with those that make all our personal actions look right.

Although if we will go back in time to that singular source of answers, and I know what you are thinking, no not that outmoded book, the bible…

But I would ask, why not? It was the first mass produced book (of answers) anyway right? I know many of us cast that book aside because there are just so many things in it that we do not want to hear or believe, or both not want to hear and believe for that matter. But let us open our minds for a minute here.

In the book of Daniel, among the oldest written manuscripts on earth ever found¹, it says in the latter days there will be many people going here and there to increase knowledge or that there is going to be a lot of frantic running around trying to figure out what’s going on.

Yes, as in, what’s going on??? I need answers! And I want it this minute! (Uncanny how somebody way over 2,000 years ago could have written that).

But has that gotten us anywhere?

Did our quest of knowledge of say how did dinosaurs really look like or what the actual color of their skin was, help us in a big way? Did our quest for the farthest super nova we can find which had the biggest bang helped us yet in a tangible way? Did finding out how King Tut really die give us something personally meaningful? Did not all these great and noble quests for answers leave us with more questions than when we started with? Or didn’t it leave us with more doubts than confirmations?

We did get a lot of knowledge, facts and answers.

But it does not necessarily mean that an increase in knowledge will translate into an increase in wisdom. If that is so then most of us in here cramming all the latest information we can get into our over taxed minds have by now gained great understanding, great insight, good sense, good judgment and are w-i-s-e.

No sadly, most of us aren’t. (Sadly quite the opposite really)

And so today, it might go well if we just aim to be wise instead of being knowledgeable. Wise not in the sense when other people say wisdom comes with age. For if that is the case, then we need to go look up anybody double our age and ask for their wise counsel. No, sadly most times that is not the case as well.

But we need answers, no doubt. And all these quests for answers are good and many of them we do need. Don't get me wrong!

But more importantly what I think we really need is to ask the right questions. And then we can go about seeking the right answers to those questions.

And you can start right now, with this question:

Did I just waste my time in here reading this or do I now take the next step and really start looking for the answers to the questions I really wanted the answers to, all my life?

Yes, so many questions but the answers are so few or you have yet to find.

But you can start right now!

¹ The oldest manuscript found was written back in the 2nd Century BC. Yes BC as in before Jesus Christ. Now that's old.

Hub Number: #003

Date: 2010-Feb-26

Next Hub: http://hubpages.com/hub/Choose-Your-Poison