What do you find to be amazing, wonderful, or unexplainable? The great sage, Augur (from the Book of Proverbs), made some observations on four things from nature, including human nature, that were too great for him to understand. His insights are a call to hear and heed an adventurous way, a call very different from the never ending noise of the supposed experts or clueless masses.
There are three things that are too wonderful for me, surely, four that I do not understand: The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the heart of the sea, and the way of a man with a maiden.
—Agur, Wisdom Teacher
Even in our scientific age, which has taken much of the mystery out of many marvels, we still watch mesmerized as an eagle soars over a lake or a garter snake glides across the ground. How a ship in the heart of the sea, let’s say in a storm, somehow manages to stay afloat is a wonder. That a man ever obtains a woman’s affection or hand in marriage (or vise-versa) is the greatest mystery of them all.
But more is going on here than just the observation of natural wonders. Augur has given us something of a riddle. What do these four things have in common?
My favorite explanation is this: None of the four are going over old territory. The eagle, the snake and the ship can go and are going where there is no path, and anytime a man moves towards a woman, most men would say, he is moving into uncharted territory.
The way traveled by each of these creatures has no path; it requires trail blazing. These four wondrous creatures illustrate trailblazing as a way of life. Similarly, the way of wisdom is a way of uncommon ground, setting a course where there is no path. Wisdom calls us to view and approach life as an adventure, like a ship at sea or a man pursuing a woman. Wisdom leads us down roads we would not normally take. The typical life follows the masses, but wisdom blazes her own trail.
Wisdom’s path offers adventure, challenge and reward. She invites us to take the uncommon way. Accept the call to adventure. Live your life differently. The options are endless: take risks, meet people, form bonds, stretch yourself, change up your routine, allow yourself to be vulnerable.
“The Path of Wisdom” offers a number of suggestions and specifics. And if you follow them, you will likely blaze the trail of wisdom.
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