Wisdom Road has been a long time in the making. I am an amateur student of wisdom, having been collecting wisdom sayings since I was a youngster.

One of my earliest encounters with Wisdom came during a day at Disneyland, when a stranger there pressed an odd multi-page tract into my hand, and then vanished into the swirling crowd. Entitled "The Wisdom of Solomon," each tiny page of the booklet contained a verse from the Apocryphal writings. I pondered these sayings for many months after, carrying the little mini in my pocket until it wore down to a frayed tuft of yellow paper. When that was gone, I turned to the Holy Bible, and found a rich vein of wisdom in the book of Proverbs, which remains my favorite book of the Bible to this day.

Other early influences came from the paperback editions of "Sai Baba" by Kailash Kumar, "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse, and the dreamtime stories of Carlos Castaneda's "Don Juan." I followed the adventures of Ken Keysey's Merry Pranksters, as chronicled in Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Koolaid Acid Test," and this led to further discoveries in college... I immersed myself in Zen Buddhism, eastern mysticism, the writings of Timothy Leary and Terrance McKenna, and I tested the wisdom of psychoactive substances, to the detriment of my grades. Later I made acquaintance with a wise mentor, Wayne Nichols, who had taken to writing down wisdom sayings in a large loose-leaf notebook. The book was thick with dog-eared pages, and I handled it with reverence. Years later, I received another book of wisdom sayings from my Reba Place friend, Jim Stringham, who brought it back from his travels in India. In recent years I have taken to gathering more commonplace wisdom, from the words in popular songs, poetry, contemporary writings, and other sources I encounter, from a rich tapestry of wise thinkers, artists and authors. These take their place next to the ancient words from history. There is also wisdom in humor, and so on occasion my aim is to make you laugh.

Wisdom Road was originally going to be one among the many "daily quote" sites. The plan evolved further when I realized I had the tools at hand to merge wisdom quotes with thought-provoking images, using automated processes for masking and compositing. I could also work in very high resolution, so that the resultant images could be output to digital photographs up to 8" x 10" or larger in size.

There is a magical interplay between the words and pictures. Syncronicity: the mind seeks meaning, whether intented or purely chance. These words and pictures are classical objects for contemplative reflection.

The pictures displayed here at Wisdom Road are from a variety of sources, both private and public domain. Many are from my family photo collection. They depict scenes familiar to us: family vacations, scenic vistas, melancholy moments, and the ordinary circumstances of happy living.

The men and women who embody wisdom today continue a timeless tradition -- passing the virtues of wise sayings from one generation to the next. By displaying these words and images in the places where you work and live, you are in some small way bringing greater wisdom and peace into the world. That small influence for good, right where you live, can make a big impact over time. I invite you to take and use these words and images to make the world a better place.

   - Peter Oakley, creator of Wisdom Road

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"Wisdom Road" - daily wisdom in words and pictures - produced by Oakley Studio, LLC copyright © 2002-2010.