I often get told by my mother that I may be book-smart and educated, but in terms of wisdom, I will never surpass her. I suppose that’s a fair statement for a mother to make to her child, but how do we define “wisdom,” and who do we consider “wise” from whom we’d take advice? Oxford Dictionary defines wisdom as “the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgment.” I agree, but I’d also add that a wise person is someone who is fulfilled with the life she has had and continues to have, and is genuinely happy, otherwise, why would I take advice from this person?
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In the age-old parent/child “education vs. life-experience” debate, I’ve always felt the parent has an unfair advantage. After all, as long as they’re alive, our parents are always going to be older than we are, so no matter how much you learn, they can keep saying they’re more experienced and thus have more wisdom. There has to be more to true wisdom than time.
Funny thing, though, now that I’m finally old enough to know what experience brings, it’s too late to really apply it to my younger self. In fact, I often feel that if I could somehow magically transport myself through time to explain to myself the insight experience would bring me, I wouldn’t believe myself!