107 – Wisdom

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I like walking on the beach. It’s good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

Wisdom conjures many thoughts. What is wisdom? What does it mean to be wise? How does one become wise or achieve wisdom? How does a person share wisdom? Does wisdom prevent us from seeing what we need to see? Even with questions, it’s hard to imagine wisdom gets in the way.

Regardless of the answers, there is no doubt that wisdom does not mean one has all the answers.

I think about how a baby transitions into a toddler. The time from squirming to rolling over to crawling to walking to running with accidents along the way. Isn’t wisdom similar? Doesn’t wisdom allow us to get our feet below us over time? Does wisdom prevent personal stumbles or is wisdom gained from stumbling?

I think about the transitions we go through in life – from the confined childhood to the pains of adolescence to the growth in adulthood to the resignation as we age. Think of all the wisdom gained during life. The mistakes that become experiences allow us to be smarter today than yesterday as we turn the pages of life.

Gaining wisdom requires an awareness of the here and now that allows us to experience life and gain wisdom. But each of us does it differently because life affects us differently. After all, we range from the hard-headed to the heavy-hearted.

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I think every person is a collection of stories. Some positive, others negative. A collection that we pass along through conversations at work, among friends, and within a family. A few people pass along their experiences through biographies. Others do so through a fictional book based on personal experiences or someone else’s life.

Experience is a history one shares with others – a history involving wisdom. However, humanity has a way of repeating the mistakes of others by proclaiming, “this is different.”

Experience allows us to deal with the unknown corner – to discover what’s around the corner or avoid it. Now that’s using wisdom!

I think about how life has a way of slapping down past experiences with hopes of shedding a new light – a new way. After 12 years of teaching, I discovered I had done a great job of doing it wrong. That internalization allowed me to step into a new frontier with confidence and gather new wisdom. At least I saw the light that the majority of my colleagues did not see – or chose to ignore.

I wonder: Are smart and wise the same or different? Being smart may involve a fast answer, but being wise involves thinking about thoroughness and options. There is wisdom in waiting – and at times, even hoping. However, one can be smart and wise.

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Wisdom – that process of thinking about our experiences, knowledge, understanding, and sensibility to make a choice.

Wisdom – the crisscrossing of interacting brain cells one uses for the betterment of both self and the many.

Wisdom is the intellect coming from reflections on knowledge and experience. Wisdom is a collaboration involving learning from our physical and mental experiences, and then using that new knowledge in the future.

Wisdom comes from moments of self-analysis – being true to ourselves by contemplating the depths of thought.

While much wisdom may comfort some, can wisdom get in the way? Can wisdom prevent us from seeing reality or the journey? Experience and wisdom can block a fresh view – so we need someone to look at the situation through a different lens for a decision that could move us to a different paradigm.

Isn’t it interesting how some seemingly fail to gain wisdom while others seem wise beyond their years?

I look at the sea and wonder how many stories it holds. Then again, wisdom tells me that I’m thinking metaphorically.

Picture copyright by Jane Lurie Photography

Wisdom and experience are components of knowledge – but I also see them as results of each other.

I wonder: What are the similarities and differences between wisdom and expertise?

Wisdom – something that comes from discernment while promenading the sand; after all, I like walking on the beach because it is good for the mind, body, and soul – and refreshing on my feet.

See what other bloggers have posted about Wisdom

• Wisdom Begins in Wonder (a collection of quotes)
• Wisdom Shared is Wisdom Learned (a poem by an occasional visitor here)
• Wisdom and Ability (an essay)
• Finding Wisdom (a short essay)
• Wisdom Watch (a poem)

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