Defining wisdom
I have been pondering wisdom. After all, Silver & Grace is dedicated to the crone stage of womanhood, and I associate the crone with wisdom. Therefore, I should have a clear idea in my own mind what wisdom is. But when I tried to sum up wisdom into a nice neat package, I couldn’t do it.
Off to do some research on what wisdom is.
I started with the dictionary definition:
- the quality or state of being wise; knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; sagacity, discernment, or insight.
- scholarly knowledge or learning: the wisdom of the schools.
- wise sayings or teachings; precepts.
- a wise act or saying.
This was less than helpful, since the definition of wisdom is the state of being wise. Off too look up wise:
- having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.
- characterized by or showing such power; judicious or prudent: a wise decision.
- possessed of or characterized by scholarly knowledge or learning; learned; erudite: wise in the law.
- having knowledge or information as to facts, circumstances, etc.: We are wiser for their explanations.
This still left me dissatisfied. It seemed to be all about knowledge. But I think wisdom is much richer than that. So, I decided to seek the counsel of the Silver & Grace community. As I suspected, the responses held the richness I was looking for.
Wisdom is experience
Allison responded with
The way I see it, wisdom is… a combination of intelligence, experience, and maturity.
I wondered if you had to be older to have wisdom, because you need all those years under your belt to gain experience. To which Allison responded
And even at a young age you can have experience in many things – I think it’s possible to be wise about specific things, without necessarily being generally wise.
For example, you might see someone in their 80s who is wise about life in general, but who might not make wise decisions or give good advice about modern technology.
Which means wisdom is experience specific.
Wisdom is applied knowledge
Jamie came back with
According to my prof, it’s knowledge applied
To which I asked, “So not only do you have to have the knowledge you have to actively do something with it?”
Jamie came back with a response that made me laugh out loud
Yep, otherwise you’re just a run of the mill blow hard.
Which means wisdom is active.
Wisdom is silence
But then Linda offered the following
Wisdom is learning when it is better to keep your mouth shut. Until you learn that, you’re not wise.
So wisdom is passive.
Wisdom touches others
And right back to action with Becky’s tribute to her dad:
Dad shared his wisdom to all of whom he met, which were many, to meet their needs and expectations. He touched more lives with his wisdom on an individual basis. It was an honour and a privilege to have been his daughter and the wisdom he gave me lives on through me and when I have the opportunity to share it…I do!
Which means wisdom has an impact on others.
Wisdom is all these things
Then I headed over the Betsy’s post on Wisdom and the following jumped out at me:
Spinoza defined wisdom as seeing things sub specie eternitatis, in view of eternity; I suggest defining it as seeing things sub specie totius, in view of the whole.
And therein lies the richness of wisdom I was seeking. It is the whole of all these wonderful definitions.
Wisdom is about experiencing life. It is about applying the knowledge gained from those experiences to other experiences. It is knowing when to share, and when to keep your mouth shut. And wisdom is about influence.
I can now define for myself the wise crone. A woman who has blended all her life experiences into parcel of knowledge which enriches her life and the lives of those around her.
Your thoughts:
- Anything else you would like to add to the definition of wisdom?
- Is there a woman in your life who fits my definition of the wise crone?
Your turn
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Hi Eliza – There’s a bit of enigma in true wisdom, methinks, as if the element of self-discovery is a necessary part of the acquisition. Or, at least that might explain my inability to apply what people say in favor of learning things the hard way.
Also, a shout-out to my darling hubby, Pete Wuebker, who took the owl photo. It’s one of my favorites, and I can’t for the life of me fathom how he spotted that guy in the tree. Thanks.
@Betsy – yes, a huge thanks to you and Pete for letting me use the owl photo. It’s amazing that he was able to capture it. And if you hover your cursor over the pic, you will see that I give Pete credit and a link to your blog. Credit where credit is due
Good point about self-discovery. You can have someone tell you something over and over again, but until you experience something for yourself, it doesn’t really become part of your ‘wisdom chest’.
Hi,
I love seeing your thinking unfold here and synthesize before us into such a comprehensive definition, Eliza!
I’ve been blessed to have many women in my life full of wisdom — mom, teachers, aunts and older cousins. I’m hoping it’s rubbed off on me . . .I’m beginning to believe so.
Thanks also for the link love!
@Linda – thank you for participating in the original discussion. Wisdom is sharing
Experience + God-given discernment + desire to live and act on these with love = wisdom.
@Lori – God-given discernment … our human ability to weigh our options and make a choice? Adding in experience and loving application of those choices. Good description!