| It has been suggested that knowledge, without standing is a wasteful experience accumulating information that serves for nothing. A psychologist may suggest to us that wisdom, and egocentricity cannot co-exist for they are incompatible leading, not a few to believe that humility is the face of wisdom concealing its many doubts with, Bertrand Russel writing that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. Many people believe that wisdom is the natural result of advancing age; white hair appearing, often signifying wiser people whereas, in reality neither experience, nor age determines the emergence of wisdom rather, it is the result of reflecting thoughtfully on the lessons learnt from ones experience, factoring those lessons into our decision making process enabling us to make wiser choices. Research indicates that intelligence accounts for some 2% of the variance in wisdom....therefore, it is not a matter of the DNA (including intellectual, and other qualities) that we inherit from our forebears which determines how wise we are for, it is possible to be super smart, and skilled in processing complex mathmatical problems without reaching practible solutions towards resolving those dilemmas that challenge us daily at play, work, and in the home. High intelligence often references success in ones career especially of celebrities, living in the media limelight with brilliant intellects often demonstrating self destructive behaviour, evidencing a poverty of wisdom that speaks to their self indulgence. A wise person is not necessarily happier, than one who is not wise for the wisest, of the wise understands that today's cloud can have a silver lining whereas, tomorrow can present us with stormy weather that drives us to the limits of our endurance....but a wise person learns that patience, and endurance are the ideal companions when daily facing ones trials, and tribulations gifts presented to us to further the growth of wisdom that leads to solutions. Within Christianity Wisdom, or Sophia is of God with the Book of Sirach, and the Book of Proverbs describing its reality in great detail teaching us that the divine mystery equips us with a source of wisdom dedicated to providing us with a happy, rewarding, and selfless life that reflects the image of God, alive in all human life. I'll leave you with the wise words of Ben Franklin to reflect on wisdom according to his understanding that wisdom is always work in progress: Quote:
Who is wise? He that learns from everyone. Who is powerful? He that governs his passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. |
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Wising up
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