(ThyBlackMan.com) “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” I’d hear this in a few commercials from the Ad Council in the early 1990s. If you don’t know who they are it is an ad company that releases ads intended to deal with issues in society at the time. Over the years and as more became known of them, their efforts have been viewed less favorably with time. Now, if that explained nothing to you, if you’re an American reader they Ad Council’s presence on TV was similar to the Stop Smoking Campaign now.
Black Men: Knowledge and Wisdom Are Inheritances That Go Far
No! A mind is a terrible thing to waste but we tend to apply that saying to not making an effort to learn and retain information or knowledge. What about sharing it and passing it on? Well, you can still end up wasting your mind by passing on your valuable knowledge—wisdom by this point–and skills you acquired to someone without the ability to learn and improve. It’s also a waste if they take what you taught them and do nefarious things with that knowledge.
Unless that was the intent then carry on, I suppose.
The thing is, taking that knowledge to the grave is quite a waste when something you’ve learned or experienced could be of value to someone. While it’s not unlikely, it’s rare that someone leaves this existence without picking up any useful skill, impressive talent, or some life lesson that could be applied to someone else.
Not only that, one person could have enough knowledge for multiple people. Holding on to it isn’t exactly the best use of it in your final years but as folks down here say when they don’t care what to question:
I’m Sure You Got Your Reasons
First off, I hope our readers are all healthy or as healthy as they can be. If you’re in the last year or hour of your life, I can see this being a bit of an unintentional stray—my apologies in advance. “I’m sure you have your reason” is basically “Who am I to judge? It’s not my business.” It’s your accumulated knowledge, you can do with it what you want.
While I aim to pass down my art and writing skills to a new generation—while continuing to create—my own reason is: a lack of people I want to teach or cultivate. It can be a problem because if you do multiple things or lived a long life, the effort of teaching someone who doesn’t care and/or never had the ability is just an unappealing thought. It sounds like a waste of time, never mind a waste of a mind.
You could teach what is applicable and what they can do something with but you might have some stuff you really want to pass on. What you’re teaching or passing on might not even be it. Personally, I think this is a good reason to hold off on passing knowledge on but not just knowledge in general. You’ve got something to pass on to younger Black men.
I understand some of you might truly feel you’ve got nothing to share or pass on. Hell, you might be still acquiring skills or experiencing the world and life. I’d say share that as well but it’s the decades of knowledge that this is about.
Ultimately, we don’t know when our time is up and we could pass before we finish passing our knowledge on. An incomplete manuscript if there ever was one. Then again, life tends to wrap it up when we have unfinished business. No, you probably won’t succeed in passing on your lifetime of professional and life experience. Hell, you probably won’t even get to pass on the good bits you’d like.
However, passing something on is like leaving a creative work behind: that’s a sign you existed and it’s one a few things that can make your name immortal and make your story—to some degree—remembered beyond family members and close relations. It’s a big step towards answering those heavy late-life questions of “Did I leave anything behind” and “Will I be remembered when I’m gone”.
What was a piece of knowledge from a departed one that you still apply or build on today? Share it with the ThyBlackMan community.
Staff Writer; M. Swift
This talented writer is also a podcast host, and comic book fan who loves all things old school. One may also find him on Twitter at; metalswift.
