With Time. . .
“Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.”
Tom Wilson
Most of us have figured out by now that growing older doesn’t necessarily guarantee we’ll be wiser. It takes time and is developed over the years. In fact, whether we gain wisdom at all depends not just on our experiences but if we learn from them.
Although we often assume wisdom is found later in life, a study that looked at whether older adults were indeed wiser than college students used a 39 question three-dimensional scale to measure the components of wisdom. It was found the older adults did score higher and the research suggested the results were due to learning from experiences.
The good news is that if you think you could use a little more wisdom, there’s no need to wait – the foundations of wisdom can be put into place right now. This is not about knowing everything, she says. It’s having a deeper understanding of the human condition. These are some of the components that need to be developed if we are to become wise:
- A knowledge of both the positive and negative aspects of human nature
- An understanding of the uncertainty and ambiguity of life
- The ability to look at events from different perspectives
- The willingness for self-examination, awareness and insight
- The absence of blaming others or circumstances for our situation
- Having compassion and showing positive behavior toward others
It’s not that a younger person can’t have wisdom, but since it’s developed as we learn, we’ve just had more chances. Consider it a benefit of growing older.
We’ve made it this far and that says much. Most baby boomers I know wouldn’t trade who they are today to go back to their 20s. If we would have known then what we know now, the road here no doubt would have been easier. But that journey also made us who we are today.
Peace and Love, Jim
#wisdom #thedailybuddha
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