Too Clever By Half - The Tragedy Of Intelligence

Over the years, I've met many people. A few of them were very intelligent.

But what were they doing with this wonderful intelligence?

The tragedy that I have observed more times than I would wish for is that the very people with the obvious intelligence and genius potential get smart arsy, and VERY, VERY lazy.

Listen up, my friend.

Just because you can run rings around the muppets in your school class, pull the wool over your teacher's ears, have your peers gasp with envy at your greatness and get away with BLUE MURDER because you're clever and know what to do and say so you get exactly what you want, that's nothing to be proud of.

But of course, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

That's the frustration, that's the tragedy.

Running at 15% of capacity and that's already WAY too much for all those around you.

So what happens then?

What seems to happen to the very clever people is that they get disheartened, disappointed, lazy.

They stop trying.

They settle on being manipulative smart arses that get "the ordinary folk" to do whatever they want, whilst bemoaning the fact that they're all alone in their genius and nobody understands them.

Then, by the time they're 50, they have wasted their lives AND THEY KNOW THEY WASTED THEIR LIVES.

No matter how many trophies surround them, how many prizes they've won, no matter how much acclaim they've had, that's all less than nothing at all.

Because deep down they know for a fact that they never even came close to unleashing their full potential.

How does this happen, and what we can do about it?

The world needs clever people, doing really clever things, not just manipulating the existing systems to have a good time and skate by with a perpetual sneer on their faces as they look down on everyone else.

I have thought about this for a long time, discussed it many times with other clever people and I've come to the conclusion that the problem for the very clever people are the LACK OF ROLE MODELS.

In the immediate family environment, there are no role models for our clever person.

Most likely, there are none at school, in church, or in society.

So then, our clever person in their search for a role model goes into history. Looks at folk like Einstein and Shakespeare, Crowley and Darwin.

But that doesn't help.

Those guys did some things well but other things they didn't; and surely, there must be more than that ...

Is there more?

If no-one has ever role modelled it, CAN IT EVEN BE THERE?

And one night, I found my answer to this perpetual question.

The human propensity for looking to role models is the trap, but it is also the way out at the same time, if you understand it.

You simply have to create a role model for yourself of a human being that HAS NEVER BEEN.

Not yet, not until you are IT.

Not some kind of Uebermensch. Not a superman. Not super-human.

JUST human - but extended to having used all the capacities a human being actually has.

I call this role model of a human being who has never been before THE OTHER.

And a whole bunch of them would be THE OTHERS.

These others would do things differently to what we've seen people in our societies do, in every way.

As soon as you start to think in terms of what AN OTHER might do under these circumstances, you can literally feel the restrictions of the models that are OF THE OLD fall away, and space becomes clear and clean for you to EVOLVE INTO.

You can stop measuring yourself then against the muppets around you, or anyone else who has ever been, and move forward into YOUR OWN PERSONAL FUTURE EVOLUTION with volition and all full speed ahead.

Just because you're already smarter than anyone else you know, doesn't mean that you're as smart as you can be, or as smart as you can become if you let go off all comparisons with all others from your own history, or the history of humanity, and simply focus on DOING YOU REALLY WELL.

What are you good at? What are your greatest strengths? IMPROVE UPON YOURSELF.

Don't worry about this taking you further, and further away from what has already been, and those who are already there.

In fact, let this fact delight you.

Don't enter into competitions or comparisons, not with other people, not with yourself, and most definitely, not with God or the Great Creative Order.

That's a huge waste of time and even if you won, you'd only get another one of those dumb prizes you already despise!

Stretch. Extend. Question. Move forward. Find fascinations and follow them.

Get off your lazy genius arse and start thinking what you might be thinking or doing if you were truly, AN OTHER.

This life isn't about dazzling your physics professor with a flawed argument, cleverly presented so he won't be able to tell it's a load of bullshit.

It's about blazing a trail into unknown territory, the pathless land that is the truth.

So, if you are one of those very clever people who got lazy, got disillusioned, gave up - well, get up and start again!

Go back to the beginning if you have to.

USE your intellect to delight yourself, if not anyone else; for one delighted soul is at least, one more enlightened soul, and that's a good thing all around, whether you believe it or not.

There is much wonder out there to be discovered, if you can open your mind again, and consider once more that THIS IS YOUR WORLD, and THIS IS YOUR TIME, so make the most of it, and when you're done, to have had a life that sparkles like a diamond - in the widest metaphorical sense.

Silvia Hartmann

April 2010