The assumption here is that with age comes wisdom. Though there is a definite link between age and wisdom, not all old people are wise and not all wise people are old. One who cannot listen cannot grow so the odds are that person will never be wise. What is wisdom? Merriam Webster (online) says "sense, common sense, judgment, wisdom mean ability to reach intelligent conclusions. sense implies a reliable ability to judge and decide with soundness, prudence, and intelligence. a choice showing good sense common sense suggests an average degree of such ability without sophistication or special knowledge.
Many folks are afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are great learning experiences and the primary take away should be - IMHO - not repeating them. Think about the world of science - scientific discoveries come from experimentation, failures and learning from those failures.
We all experience a bit of heartache in life - it is just part of life - and again just learn from the experience, and keep moving forward.
My all time fave basketball player, Julius Erving, got it right when he said "
The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life - mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical."
It strikes me as rather odd that we here in the United States do not seem to offer the proper respect to our senior citizens. Consider the ages of some of our senior politicians and it is even odder but here it seems older people are shuffled off to retirement homes and ignored except for holidays. Ironic then that we elect septuagenarians President.
One thing is certain - e all reach the end of the line. One can only hope we are wiser than when we started.
That's my quick shack take on older wiser. Stop by next week for another 2-on-2 blog where my blog mate Ramana and I tackle the same subject.
I am fortunate that I live in India where despite change taking place all around me, there is still respect for senior citizens and also concern and care. My extended family is proof enough for this phenomenon and I see the same among most of my friends.
ReplyDeleteI personally get a lot of respect for my age and many young people of my son's age consult me on many subjects temporal and spiritual. I find this very stimulating and it forces me to keep updated with knowledge. While I don't claim to be a wise man, I certainly have enough knowledge to share which I do often.
I consider you very wise.
DeleteThank you. I am flattered./
Deleteyou've brought up a good point about our country and its regard for age. but then we've been 'youth worshipers' for decades. remember too... "never trust anyone over 30!"
ReplyDeleteit strikes me that we've always been very superficial. depth has never been a big selling card. and here it's all about the money honey. can it change? I don't know but I hope so.
I almost skipped the song. but I'm SO GLAD I didn't! it's great.
it's all right. alright? lol. xo