Is wisdom guaranteed with age? Do I become wise just because I have got older? Or do I have to work at it?
At the age of ten we can’t wait to grow up.
At the age of 20 we are invincible and all old people are of that generation that know nothing.
At the age of 30 we beginning to wise up, or do I? I still think old people are of that old generation that know nothing. Or I might be wise enough to realise they do know something?
At the age of 40 we should be wise !
And then in some cultures we retire at 50 and expect all young one behave a certain way with us.
The above is a bit of a sweeping generalisation to stir up your thought process (do comment below).
Some are wise their entire life from the age of seven or younger. Some reach 60 or even 70 and wisdom is nowhere to be seen.
I love this quote, for it says it all.
Many people die at twenty five and aren’t buried until seventy five.
Benjamin Franklin
I don’t believe in generation gaps. I believe wisdom can be gained, worked on and developed. Only if I want to learn and improve my whole life. If I step out of school or university and do not study further then I am this quote. Then instead of becoming wiser and experienced I slowly die intellectually.
When young ones or middle aged ones, use the cliche of “the older generation are like that they don’t know better”. It is not fair on all the older generation. Would you say that to Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, President Lincoln, or Martin Luther King. If they would be alive today they would be old and oh they would be wise!
Wisdom and experience are gifted to a few, others have to work for it. But, it is all about the fire in your belly to keep learning, doing good and living for a greater good.
For me there is no Generation gap. It is a peer group gap.
In a classroom you have students who are A* to U class. Therefore, in the classroom of life you the A* to U gap. For example not all young ones are the same, not all old ones are the same. It does not mean you can’t work hard and become an A* student of life, of course we can. The point is, do we have the fire in our belly to make ourselves great, kind, and good?
Life if a choice.
Common sense is not common.
Hard work does pay off, and we can change our circumstance from bad to good, or even good to bad. Our life is in our hands.
I personally conclude, wisdom is NOT gifted to us by God, as an inheritance. Nor is wisdom downloaded, like in the Matrix film. It is something I have to work on throughout my entire life with consistency. Wisdom is not a default quality of the old. Nor it a default quality of a successful person.
What is wisdom?
In my humble opinion…
Wisdom is diplomacy, maturity, compassion, care, service of others, simpliesty, kindness and humility. It is a life of ethics and morals that is good for me and the world. It is not let us do what the crowd does – even when the crowd is wrong. It is discernment, it is to never waiver from the truth, the just and the right thing to do.
Wisdom is the mark of the great; Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela. The cause is the betterment of humanity and myself.
Wisdom is not the easy road. Wisdom is just, right, good for the world and myself. It is not following the crowd when the crowd is going in the wrong direction.
Wisdom is not endowed on me just because I am another year older and I have lived a long life and these eyes have seen a lot. The question is, in all that I have lived, seen and experienced was I fair, kind, just , honest, selfless, compassionate, did I cheat, was I honest, etc..
Wisdom is a silence. Wisdom is an honest and sincere warmth. Wisdom is when the other knows from their heart, I can be safe in this one’s hands and in this one’s guidance, for they lived fully, opened eyed and continuously transforming themselves. No bias, just as open and fair as the Divine himself. On the side of truth and that which is right even if that meant they were ostracized in part of their life.
What do you think?
Do share in the comments below your thoughts. I want to know your thoughts. I have deliberately in places been generalistic in my thoughts, to stir in you emotions, so do share your thoughts to make a lively conversation.
Thank your for visiting.
Thoughtsnlifeblog 
That Benjamin Franklin quote hurt 😆 I think you’re right that wisdom is something to be gained and worked for… but you need a little wisdom in the first place to know to do it… so my question is, how do we spark that first desire for wisdom?
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When we have the fire in our belly to live, to work, to do something more than we are currently doing. And whilst on this journey we humble enough to learn from mistakes mine and others. I would say this how we spark the desire. The desire to grow and learn. To not stop learning. Well this why the quote is so apt, too many people are like we have finished school or higher education and just plain stop learning and not noticing their own weakness . Or they may invest in some study to gain something but after that they stop.
We should never be satisfied with what we achieved in life we should always do more.
Eg my mum at 70 had a heart attack and a triple by pass. And a year or so after that she had a pacemaker fitted. We both volunteered for the organisation we meditated at. She did something different to me. But the work was drying up for her. So she was allowed to join us in accounts to do data entry. She learnt data entry and is still going strong at 78 years. And for myself I am not trained in accounts as my career, so I too learnt data entry over 15 plus years ago. I want to write a book or two. I have no clue what to do, so I am taking a creative writing course as well as reading books and working on my weak area.
But on the other side we know people in out family who are just satisfied in doing nothing , but socialising. That is life.
But in life we human beings are unique, not all will aspire to keep learning and growing.
So it all about us.
I am lucky, if I get lazy, my mum will tell me to do something with my life!! She wont allow me to be small in any of the many aspects of life.
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First desire would be from young age to aspire to be something great. That will then inspire you further. Not to hide behind fear. But to feel the fear and do it anyway.
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I like that , when we stop seeking it, we stop earning it.
Thank you for your lovely comment.
Yes we need wise leaders. Indeed
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Such a thought provoking post and coincidentally something that’s been on my mind quite often these past few months. Right now the world needs some wise leaders to shine their light.
Wisdom is a never-ending journey, not a destination and it needs to be cared for and developed. When we stop seeking it, we stop earning it – love the Ben Franklin quote!
Great post❣️❣️🤗
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