This mini-publication is a collection of advice from people from different social, incidental or occupational identities. The advice is based on actual conversations, chats and messages with the concerned people. I asked them:
“What is one piece of Wisdom you’d like to give Humanity?� The following pages present their answers.
“Know thy pleasures.”
1.
P H I L O S O P H E R
“People from all walks of life have stories and dreams you’ll never see or hear, and most people want to feel special, connected and loved. I spent five years in the business as a prostitute, and a lot of customers didn’t come to me just for sex. They came to me for companionship, listening, someone to talk to, and someone to cuddle with and hold them for a brief time. Some of my most frequent repeat clients were women who had no one to listen to them and felt neglected by their spouse or family. There were times there was no sex at all, and I wound up hearing a wide variety of stories and covering a wide variety of topics. So many people have unfulfilled dreams and longings it’s unreal, and a fundamental need for many many people is the need to be heard, seen and acknowledged. A decent chunk of my business was because I was easy to talk to and didn’t present an air of judgment. There was plenty of sex for both genders, but both genders craved emotional intimacy that I could give them for a little while. They wanted someone to hear their stories and someone who would look at them like they wanted to be looked at. I could give them that.”
2.
P R O S T I T U T E
“One thing I learned, and am still learning, is to not judge too quickly. Every story has multiple voices, every character has multiple motivations, and we can strive to understand only some of them. For me, wisdom is to realize that there’s nothing like the complete truth. So don’t take your own version of it too seriously, and don’t reject others’ versions.”
3.
P O E T
“Maximize Utility. Exhaust your resources efficiently; not waste anything. The scarcity of time. Our resources and days are numbered. Make the best/ most out of your situation.�
4.
E C O N O M I S T
“Reminding you that this homeless person, suffering on the streets, all alone with no friends and family, this homeless person, by the luck of the draw, could have been you. It should remind us of the little control we have in what family we are born into and how our life experiences affect the choices we make. It makes me feel blessed to have the life, friends, and family that I do, and in turn, motivates me to work as hard as I can in testament to my appreciation of the opportunities that I possess. So don’t snare at, ignore, or ridicule the homeless person because all that was needed was a stroke of bad luck for that homeless person to have been, You.�
5.
H O B O
“It’s about how you take your clothes off and not just taking your clothes off.”
6.
S T R I P P E R
“If religion was the spiritual center of past civilizations, then art is the true spiritual center of future civilization. we have to bring art into the center of our lives and societies if we want a peaceful and sustainable future on earth - today it exists only on the peripheries.�
7.
A R T I S T
“I think that most people learn in prison is how to be patient. Patience is by far the most important characteristic that a con can learn.�
8.
E X - C O N V I C T
“Know when to say when.”
9.
B A R T E N D E R
“Make sure the price is right for what you are about to give. In a word, proportionality.�
10.
LA W Y E R
“Focus on improving your ability to create and deepen relationships because I think that’s the number one thing that needs to happen for your success in life.”
11.
Y O U T U B E R
“Food, clean water and a safe place to sleep, those are our basic needs. Any omission of this consideration is a deep misunderstanding of the fragility of our systems.�
12.
S C I E N T I S T
“Choose your defeats. Choosing your defeats implies that you are dedicated to a course of action that you want to see through despite the risk of not succeeding. Since there is still a possibility of growth, progress & learning from your defeats.�
13.
S C H O O L
T E A C H E R
“Speak louder and speak less.”
14.
S O L D I E R
“Mind your own business.�
15.
S T R A N G E R