The philosophies of the wisest people that ever existed are mainly derived
from the act of introspection. -William Godwin
This quotation is rather hard to accept, to be honest. After all, most of us see wisdom as something that we gain from other people who have lived longer than us, or who have had more varied experiences than us. But what William is saying is that our wisdom comes from inside of us, not from outside. It comes from turning our thoughts and attention inwards and finding out just what we know in life, just what we've learned from life. It comes from our own experiences and our own thoughts about those experiences. We've learned in life, to be sure, but how often are we willing to pay attention to that voice inside of us that tells us what we know rather than picking up a book and finding out what someone else knows? I think that we convince ourselves that it's necessary to be humble, that if we trust ourselves to teach ourselves wisdom, we'll be arrogant somehow. But perhaps we're wrong--perhaps turning inside and trusting ourselves isn't arrogance at all, but the most important thing we can do. Perhaps we're more aware than we give ourselves credit for, and perhaps we've learned much, much more than we think we have. I'm doing my best to try to trust myself for insight and wisdom, for I know that I'm a fairly smart person and I've had a lot of experiences that should have taught me many wonderful, valuable lessons. When I'm able to turn those lessons into a wisdom that can help me and help others, then I think I'll truly be on the right road. Where that road leads, who knows? But I would like to be on it.
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