THE GROWING OF THE MIND - PART 1

The mind can be viewed as a kind of STOMACH that receives just about anything it is fed. On one hand, it receives things it may not necessarily like, but is compelled to receive and digest. On the other hand, it gets to choose what exactly it desires to consume.

Knowledge is information that the mind receives or acquires in order to stay relevant on matters pertaining to every day living, or in order to function in a work environment from where income is derived.

In this regard therefore, knowledge may or may not be something the mind actually enjoys for most people. They would  rather engage their minds in doing something else more 'fun'; hence the difference between work and leisure.

Which brings us to the second part of what the mind consumes. It consists of things it considers to be 'fun' or simply put - ENTERTAINMENT.

So for want of a better term, we have on the one hand - KNOWLEDGE (or work related consumption) and on the other hand  - ENTERTAINMENT (or fun related consumption).

These are the two things that the mind consumes - NOURISHMENT that is absolutely necessary to living, and GOURMET or JUNK food that the mind merely delights in.

In these two distinctions, it becomes apparent that the mind cannot possibly grow simply on what it is fed; that is a misconception that we have grown to believe. 

The definition of the growth of the mind therefore is not in the volume of content it contains or even in the quality of the content; it has to do with the AGING of the mind to the point where certain things are considered beneath it because it has OUTGROWN such thoughts or should have.

The mind does not grow merely by increase of knowledge alone; more fundamentally, it grows by a RESTRICTION on the things it permits itself to indulge in because it has come to understand that certain thoughts and feelings  are not commensurate with physical age and therefore the phrase "Aren't you being childish?" cannot possibly apply to a child but to an adult who is behaving like a child!

Such behaviour stems from the level of growth of the mind in MATURITY not in content.

Thus a highly rated intellectual may not necessarily be considered mature when at some point he/she gives in to a tantrum in a moment of tension.

Intellectualism is not a criteria for maturity of the mind.

This series will continue