Knowing fully well that wisdom is the pinnacle of human development most of us yearn for it. But what exactly wisdom is? It is not easy to define it. In fact, there is no consensus on what constitutes wisdom, but most people agree that it is important. Perhaps we will never be able to define wisdom in a concise way. But that does not mean it is fluffy or idealistic. Rather, it is down to earth and has practical implications for everyday life.
Each one of us has an intuitive understanding of what wisdom means. The challenge, however, is to turn wisdom-related knowledge into action. This is not an easy task. None of us was born wise. Wisdom is developed from experience and practice. So the older a person is the more likely he would be wise. But at the same time, wisdom is not measured by the number of grey hair on our head. It is not bestowed upon us in old age. Like most other human qualities it has to be acquired through application and willingness to change.
As we get older wisdom helps us to prepare for physical decline and ultimately death. Most people spend their youth trying to obtain knowledge because they want to live the best lives possible, and knowledge can help in that pursuit. However, we fail to understand that while knowledge is necessary to master the outside world, wisdom is what we need to master our inner world. Simply put, if our insides are in turmoil, knowledge is of little help.
Certainly, knowledge can help you to make informed decisions about how to improve your inner life, but it is the ability to take that knowledge, put the parts together, and see the bigger picture that counts. We see that wise people have perspective. They gather information so they can see from more than one point of view. They know what counts and what to ignore. They get to the core of things. They understand acquiring knowledge is an important aspect of wisdom. But, crucially, they also understand intelligent people are not always wise.
Further, the wise ones understand all knowledge is open to question. So they give up the belief in absolute knowledge. Skillfully, they balance the notion that there is no bottom line without falling into a bottomless pit. That is to say, they know there are more ways to look at things than they can possibly imagine. Hence, they are reluctant to jump to conclusions or preach their knowledge as the truth. They recognize there are many things they do not know. Yet, they are able to use their current understanding to lead the best possible life. And, no doubt, that can be the case for us too!