My aha moment burst upon me like a veritable light bulb.
I had been watching Walter Isaacson conducting an interview on TV with Tracy K. Smith, when she quoted two simple lines from a poem by William Butler Yeats called Tom O’Roughley.
Of course anyone can quote a poem – but Tracy K Smith happens to be the 22nd U.S. Poet Laureate.
So I sat up and listened:
And wisdom is a butterfly
And not a gloomy bird of prey.
Brief but meaningful.
Now I had studied some of Yeat’s poems while still at school though at the time their deeper meaning escaped me. But now on hearing these few words something immediately resonated with me.
You see, I had always been on a quest for a deeper understanding and application of graphology because I had never felt that graphology should be practiced from a shallow base.
Which is why those brief lines from Yeats spoke so loudly to me. I believe that they are a gentle reminder of an important truth that we should always keep in mind – not only with regard to our relationships but as applicable to graphology as well.
A reminder that the best way to reach people is with a light touch rather than with a heavy hand.
And furthermore, when it comes to handwriting, we need to be aware that every handwriting represents a real live person with sensitivities whose deeper values are over and above simple, superficial appearances.
So as I heard the quote I thought; this is exactly what graphology is all about. How could it have been described so succinctly and so well in any other way?
Young or old, the best graphologists are those who have a type of inner wisdom. And sometimes imparting this wisdom requires a gentle understanding rather than a gloomy critical approach.
A graphologist needs enough wisdom to know not to dwell too long on the darker aspects of a sensitive personality but rather to deal with it delicately like a butterfly.
And so my aha moment and graphology gem for the day day is:
And wisdom is a butterfly
And not a gloomy bird of prey.
Some time ago, I wrote an article that illustrates this theme rather well. It’s a little controversial with regard to the ethics of a situation in which I was involved. Take a look and let me know what you think.
It’s called A Desperate Letter.
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