Life often offers us little nuggets where we least expect them. I am taking an independent study on Research and Writing methods for my ThM. Having already completed a Master’s thesis and having taken a similar class in my MA, I thought this class would be repetition and a waste of time. But required is required. However, this class has introduced me to this gem of a book: A.G. Sertillanges’ The Intellectual Life. This is truly a great resource of advice and encouragement for anyone looking to travel down the road of even semi-serious study. There have been so many quotable and impactful portions of this book that I wanted to start blogging on some of them occasionally. The first one that inspired me was this:

One does not need extraordinary gifts to carry some work through; average superiority suffices; the rest depends on energy and wise application of energy. (8 )

Now I do not consider myself to possess any extraordinary gifts, and though I may not word it as ‘average superiority’ I do consider myself in the averagely intelligent crowd. This is both an encouragement and a challenge. It is an encouragement because we do not all have to be of the ilk of Thomas Aquinas to produce quality intellectual work. But this is also a challenge because it depends on our energy and wise application of energy. In other words, it is ours to win or lose. The choice is up to us, how much energy, and more importantly ‘wise energy,’ are we willing to put into our endeavors?