“The heart of the
wise is in a house of mourning, whereas the heart of the fools is in a house of
joy. It is better to hear the rebuke of a wise man than for a man to hear the
song of the fools. For as the sound of the thorns under the pot, so is the
laughter of the fool, and this too is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 7:4:6)
The more we learn from life by acquiring
knowledge and wisdom, the more we become aware of the harm we can cause by
following ego’s agenda and the negative traits derived from lower thoughts,
emotions, passions and instincts. Goodness rebukes our seduction by the “song”
of fantasies and illusions that lead us to the vanity of negative choices.
“For sarcasm makes
the wise foolish, and it destroys the understanding which is a gift. The end of
a thing is better than its beginning; better the patient in spirit than the
haughty in spirit.” (7:7-8)
We must guard against nihilism as the residue in
the aftermath of wrath, frustration, depression and vexation left by our
vanities, which makes us as foolish as the most ignorant of men.
The message
here is to learn from our disappointments, mistakes and bad choices, for from
this learning we understand, and our understanding becomes our most valuable
asset.
As King Solomon mentions repeatedly, the end of
our afflictions is better than our beginning in them. Thus we realize that
patience is the means and also the process through which we fully learn all the
lessons from the idols we alone have created for ourselves.
“Be not hasty with
your spirit to become wroth, for wrath lies in the bosom of fools. Do not say,
‘How was it that the former days were better than these?’ For not out of wisdom
have you asked concerning this.”
(7:9-10)
We must ask from where or what we get angry.
Here hastiness is suggested as one reason, usually pushed by the anxiety
created by what we covet, envy or desire.
This is the predicament of the fool
as well as those unaware of what really matters in life. If we miss the days
when we had more than what we have now, this means that we are not toiling for
the goodness we miss, if goodness was what we had more. In this regard, we
always have to ask what truly fulfills every aspect and facet of
life every moment.
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