What is wisdom? We often say certain people are wise. We thank them or respect and honor them for their wisdom. Some say certain people are 'wise' old souls. There are many words of wisdom and pearls of wisdom. We toss around the label of wise and assign wisdom sort of willy nilly sometimes. How do we determine who has wisdom or what wisdom is and what wisdom is not?
Is wisdom the same as intelligence? I think not. There are many types of intelligence. Wisdom is far more than intelligence. Far more than being knowledgeable. Anyone can acquire knowledge. Wisdom involves more than learning facts. It's interpreting, owning and truly, deeply, understanding them. Then, the wise ones are often able to show others the way to wisdom, by example.
By definition, wisdom is the study and application of knowledge. It is often considered to be coupled with a deep and intuitive knowing and understanding of all manner of things. Typically, the 'wise one' is able to keep their emotions out of the subject matter at hand. They can apply their knowledge and give keen insight and examples of their perception and knowledge. They are able to remain calm and objective, even when discussing topics of controversy. Their perspective often gives a sense of balance to the subject matter being discussed.
Wise people are usually pretty even keeled. They are matter of fact. They are often calm, centered and fully accepting of not only who they are, but of who everyone else is and where they are at in their journey. They are not judgmental, just matter of fact. They have an exceptional ability to reason, infer, interpret and explain things to others in a way they can relate to and understand.
Those who are wise are often portrayed as 'all-knowing', smart or gifted somehow. While that may be true, they may also just be really good at seeing the forest through the trees AND being able to see every tree for what it is, what it's made of, what it gives, what it receives and how it relates to all the other trees, the earth, the air, the animals and so on. What a gift.
With wisdom comes the ability to see the big picture while acknowledging and understanding all the little pictures that contribute to it. They recognize that a person or thing is far more than the sum of it's parts.
We tend to assign the label of wise one to people in positions of power or those who have documentation to 'prove' their application of knowledge. I know far more children and non-academic non-overachievers who I'd consider wise than those who have a bevvy of initials and prestigious credentials assigned to their name.
I am a fan of words of wisdom. I find many of the inspiring. Many are from the great thinkers of our time. Some are simply core values we seem to have forgotten until someone put it on a magnet or greeting card. What they do is make us stop and think. They inspire us to be better. At least, I hope that's part of the benefit we get from subscribing to the wisdom shared by others.
My words of wisdom? Live your life with no regrets. Be the best you that you can be. Live happy. Die happy. Share the love. Be the light. Eat more chocolate. Unless you are allergic. Then, feel free to share it with me and I shall trade you for what you love instead. Pray for peace. Sparkle on.
This sort of sums it up for me.
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