The other side of the tree line

While sitting on the beach contemplating the mysteries of the universe, have you ever meditated on the difference between knowledge and wisdom? If you have not, well I am going to save you some time, just read on and you will be enlightened.

Kiawah provides some interesting insight as to how the other half live.  Most of you may not notice, since you-all live in the big city, and I live in a place where most people drive pick-me-up trucks, not because they just want them, but have to use them to make a living. A place where our big summer event is the national lawn mower races http://bowlesfarms.com/LawnMower_Race.php   being held at our neighbor’s farm, or the U.S. oyster shucking finals held in a field across from the high school. (You get the point)  As you start walking around the streets of the Fresh fields, you are confronted by people dressed to the nine’s. Everyone you see have designer: shoes, bags, glasses, jewelry and Rolex’s on their wrists.  After you finally get your key and parking pass you are confronted, by the same snobs their fancy cars not one of them have any idea what they are doing as they crash the gate. They don’t care which lane they are in because they are right! I spend my time just enjoying all of the incompetence, stupidity and arrogance of those people. I finally got thru the gate, and some idiot biker decided that he was too good to ride is $5,000 bike on the established, well marked,  BIG sign sayin, “over here dummy” bike path. Once again, I just waited for a break (I counted the cars: 40 SUV’s, 20 Lincoln’s, 10 Caddy’s, 30 BMW’s) in the traffic so I could pull around him.  One year I observed our neighbors, let me build you a bio: 40’s, professional, two incomes, 2.5 kids (really three) 2011Mercedes SUV, Trune roof carrier, Gucci luggage.  I watched as the kids dragged the luggage up the stairs while the old man stood at the bottom, I assume the old lady was inside drinking her imported fitness water which the old man got a text message then yelled to one of the kids to come back down here because your mom needs a drink of water. Bright and early the next morning mom and 2.5 kids jumped into the SUV and drove the 200 yards to the park so the park could entertain them for the day, after that chore was completed the wife and husband can start their family vacation! The old lady is headed to the spa, to spend $1,000 dollars on makeover, while the old man heads to the ocean course to drop only $500 on a round of golf. The bad news is they are leaving at different times! Who gets the car? They are both knowledgeable people and know how to take care of themselves so they call the island limos. The first limo shows up do you think that the old lady would be on the lookout No way, that would imply that she was thinking of someone other than herself. The limo driver had to wait for 20 minutes before she graced him with her presence. Now the old man was different, he just walked down the steps when his Limo arrived and popped the lift back of his SUV and told the driver to get his club out and put them in the limo. They followed the same routine every morning, except on Thursday where the old lady did not drop off the kids, but they did grace all of us with their presence on the beach. Now that is a real family vacation! If what I am describing is not the exception, then I will eat my hat! To think, we have the nerve to talk about how modern, and full of knowledge we are today, all I can say is Ellen “We are standing on the threshold of hell”.  Often times in my blog I have described the tree line, where you walk from the madness of the homes/condo/cars limo’s etc, and pass thru the tree line where you take a big breath and you have reached nirvana. The tree line is best described like this; it is the dividing line between the narcissistic world and contentment, materialist and needy, giving and receiving, Knowledge and wisdom. Everyone on the beach has the same purpose, the only perceivable difference between people is the color of their bathing suit, it could be old, or it could be new, who knows and who cares.  You can be yourself on the beach, there is nothing to be pretentious about, there are chairs, umbrellas, and boogie boards etc. once again different colors but the same. After one dip in the water we all look the same! There are some exceptions, just like anything (the turtle killers) but for the most part, we are all forced mentality to leave the  knowledge that drives our need for STUFF, behind and are then forced to relax and take inventory of what we really are Wisdom.