What is Wisdom? -Unlearning-

This Sunday at West Hill... Unlearn with us!

We often think of growth as a process of acquiring more knowledge, but what if true understanding begins with letting go? What if wisdom begins not with learning, but with UN-learning?

This week, Dave Bergerson invites us to question what we've been taught, examine inherited assumptions, and make space for new ways of seeing ourselves and the world.

Together we’ll explore, how long-held beliefs shape our perceptions, often without our awareness, and reflect on 'What truths still guide us', and 'What assumptions are we ready to move away from?'

Dave offers a compelling case, through a social justice lens, to UN-learn. Grounded in humility, empathy, and transformation, we can create room for what we have yet to understand. Without blame, guilt, or erasure, we can make a conscious choice to evolve.

If you have ever felt the tension between what you were taught and what you have come to know through experience, this Perspective will speak to you. It is a thoughtful invitation to rethink, reflect, and reimagine.

Sometimes, the most important truths are found not in what we learn next, but in what we are finally willing to unlearn.

Sunday at 10:30 ET at 62 Orchard Park Drive or ONLINE via ZOOM

Coming Soon… Watch the gathering here

Quotes and Readings

Physicist and theorist, Albert Einstein, states, "we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

Computer scientist and naval officer, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, warns that "the most dangerous phrase in the language is: 'We've always done it this way.'

Playwright and critic, George Bernard Shaw, asserts that "progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

Author Cheryl Strayed observes that "sometimes the first step toward change is the one where we stop telling the story the old way."

And finally, Linguist, philosopher, and activist, Noam Chomsky, reminds us that "if we choose, we can live in a world of comforting illusion. Or we can bravely search for the truth and build a better future."

The final chapter of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird captures a moment of realization in the voice of Scout, who begins to see her world with new clarity. This fictional moment mirrors the inner shift that often accompanies unlearning, when we begin to question what we accepted without thought and move toward a deeper, more compassionate understanding.

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough."

"As I made my way home, I tried to remember what life had been like before. I realized I had been a child who accepted things as they came. But I had learned, painfully, that some things must be questioned, and others, changed."

Scout's realization marks a turning point, not just in the story, but in her development as someone beginning to unlearn inherited assumptions. It speaks to the heart of today's message.