“You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great”
Zig ziglar
This is a quote that I’ve repeated to myself when I’ve needed some positive encouragement. Quotes like these can have the power to completely shift our perspective. There is always the presence of fear and uncertainty in new beginnings, but the wisdom we can learn from others can reassure us and propel us forward.
So Who am I?
My name is Murray and I’m 30 years old. I’m a machinist from Regina, Sk, Canada. I love to read and learn. I have an insatiable curiosity, and like everyone else, I’m just trying to figure it all out.
“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious”
Albert Einstein
I’ve been keeping a notebook of quotes like this one for a few years. I’ve filled it with words written by authors, poets, politicians, artists, innovators, scientists, and philosophers. The wise men and women who have discovered truth the hard way, with thoughtful introspection, experience, and creativity.
“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it”
Winston Churchill
In 2014, my curiosity led me to attempt to read the 100 greatest books of all time. As of April 10th, 2020, I have read 155 books, but my to-read list grows faster than I can finish them.
Despite my best efforts not to deviate from my list, I’ve taken some detours along the way. Whenever I came across an author who caught my attention, which happened more often than not, I would usually read some of their other works that weren’t listed on whatever “greatest book” website I happened to be referencing.
If you’ve read War and Peace, chances are you’ve read Anna Karenina. Grapes of Wrath; East of Eden. 1984; Animal Farm. These digressions aren’t just influenced by the author either. I enjoyed 1984, so I read Fahrenheit 451, Brave New World, and Darkness at Noon. The dystopian genre even inspired me to revisit Lord of the Flies, which unlike in high school, I actually finished.
Friends and family would also recommend books, so then too I would, sometimes reluctantly, deviate from my list.
“Who cares?” you might be asking.
Well, no one likely.
I probably come across as a virtue signalling snob who is waving his accomplishments like a flag. You might be thinking that I’m using the books I’ve read as a vanity metric or treating them like things I’ve conquered.
A year ago, you would have been right.
Since then, I’ve had to face some uncomfortable truths, but I’ve also come to realize some positive, life changing ones. I’ve had to examine why I was doing what I was doing. These books had become my identity, they weren’t just my hobby, they were all I wanted to talk about. I became obsessed.
So when I realized that I had been reading for all the wrong reasons, It made me think about what the right reasons were. I put aside the idea of conquering my list. I gave myself permission to be free and to explore authors and books which had formerly escaped my attention. I still have a “to-read” list but Im not afraid to veer off in other directions.
New avenues of wisdom opened up for me. I discovered inspiring thinkers like Jordan Peterson, and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom have dramatically changed my outlook on life.
My new freedom allowed me to explore in depth a favourite topic of mine: Stoic philosophy.
Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus have become major inspirations to me. Their messages are pithy and simple, but powerful and profound. Perfect for someone who keeps a notebook of quotes.
My notebook led me to the the right reasons I was looking for. A few months ago I started keeping a journal. For every journal entry I made, I would copy a quote from my notebook and write about it. It was helping me to memorize them so I could use them as mantras in my daily life. It was like having a quick supply of wisdom on hand that you could use in a pinch. I found that the more I was thinking about these little bits of wisdom, the more I started putting them into practice. I was discovering truths that other people had to suffer to learn, or at least had more presence of mind and wisdom than I have.
Another question would continually rise in me. Who was I going to share this wisdom with? My brother and his wife had twins in 2017 and it has shifted my perspective toward children. I have become recently engaged, and the talk of my fiancé and I having kids of our own has become more frequent. I’m excited about the opportunity to share old wisdom and new ideas with my own children.
My father passed away when I was 21. I’ll never get the chance to know him like two adults can know each other. Not as father and son, but as friends. I don’t want that for my children, I’d like them to be able to know me on a deeper level if they choose to. The rest of my family is similar, no one kept a journal or a diary. The only information we have about our ancestors are from photos or stories told to us by the people who knew them.
Photos fade and people die, and unfortunately, so do their stories.
So I’ll keep this blog, like a journal, for my children to read one day, and for my family and friends to read now.
For anyone one else who happens to find me, understand that wisdom and truth are universal, and that even though the wisdom I’ve gained has been filtered through my lens:
“The things of greatest merit are common property”
Seneca
I am not a self-help Guru, and I’m not here to fix your problems, or to align your chakras.
I want to carry on a memory that might otherwise be forgotten. I want to pass on wisdom that I’ve learned.
Not everyone is willing to read Heart of Darkness to discover an example of what Carl Jung meant when he said: “No tree can grow to Heaven unless its roots reach down to Hell.”
Furthermore, with the ongoing situation regarding the Coronavirus pandemic, now more than ever, people might be in need of some encouraging words of wisdom. Shifts in our perspectives and reassuring words can do wonders for our mental health.
So I want to thank you for reading and I encourage any questions or comments you might have.
Welcome to What the Wise Have Said.
Before I hit “publish” on my first post, I’m encouraged by one last quote:
“Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear”.
George Addair
Really like the site. Interesting to hear what a 30 year-old is interested in learning, and what you respond to. Wisdom: what a good thing to be interested in! Many good vibes. May you learn a lot about wisdom, and pass it on.
Thank you Richard. Very kind words, I appreciate it. Im glad you like the site, thanks for reading!
Very interesting Murray. You are so open sharing your thoughts and feelings, that must be scary and freeing at the same time.
‘It is we ourselves who must answer the questions that life asks of us, and to these questions we can respond only by being responsible for our existence.’
My favorite line in Victor E. Frankl’s book Man’s Search For Meaning.
Why do we find it so hard and make it so complicated to be happy and content?
Keep posting and I will keep reading!
It’s mostly scary, well, was mostly scary. Like ripping a band-aid off. Thanks so much for reading Joan! Thats a very good question, one that I’ve been turning over in my mind for a long time. If we keep reading from the great thinkers of the past I think we can get closer to the answer. There is something about playing with their old words, you can throw them around without requiring too much of an effort of questioning their validity. Time already did that.
Murray – my favorite C.S. Lewis quote is from a column he wrote in the the 50’s that’s oh so timely today –
“My contention is that good men (not bad men) consistently acting upon that position would act as cruelly and unjustly as the greatest tyrants. They might in some respects act even worse. Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
Thanks for reading Steve. I agree, it’s a great quote. It reminds me of the old proverb:”The road to hell is paved with good intentions”
Thank you. Thank you for taking the step that so many times, I wished that I had. After a few minutes of browsing, and reading your first post, I’m anxious to read your thoughts on other topics. I’m a big supporter of Dr. Jordan Peterson, and I follow both Dr. Peterson and his daughter, Mikhaila on Twitter. She tweeted today a link to your piece on her father and I was instantly encouraged to see something dated within the last few months. I’ve been vexed with recent posts on my various timelines that are merely re-uploads of articles written in the past. Not that you need anyone’s approval, but I encourage you to continue following your path.
This place seems cozy, so don’t mind me for putting my feet up and staying a while. Thanks again for putting this together. I can’t wait to see where this leads!
Welcome Daniel, make yourself at home and thanks so much for reading!
Came across your blog on an FB-friend’s wall… and have thoroughly enjoyed reading several of your posts now. Thanks! Food for thought, and more so, poetry for the soul. Keep up the good work – especially the inner!
Thanks so much for reading Minna, I’m glad you like them!
i can’t even remember how i found you. i don’t remember reading your ‘about’ page until just now…honestly, i feel like you would be friends with one of my sons – and i got such delight when i read jordan peterson in your list there. he’s made his way into my entire family here. this is good good stuff that you are sharing. we need this now more than ever. thank you! and yes, i’m gonna be telling each of my sons to look you up!
Thank you Terri, really that means a lot. I appreciate the kind words, and I’m so glad you enjoy it.
I recently wrote another post about Peterson, I’m sure you and your family would like it.