Wisdom: what is it?

Wisdom. What is it? When I was growing up, the only thing I ever heard was “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Make no mistake: I cherish those words. I say this not to discredit such a valuable insight, but come on! Is that really an answer? Does that really help define wisdom to a seeking child? Could you use that reference as an explanation to your kid? I don’t think so. At best, it’s a good start, but I don’t think too many of the people I have spoken to truly understand wisdom for themselves. Today I would like to try to unpack this in plain english. I am going to let you hold me accountable to this: if you finish this post and still don’t understand what wisdom is, come tell me and I will try again. I want to make some concrete sense that everyone can understand, and I think I have a way to explain it. 

I believe that wisdom is the power of listening. It’s paying attention to your surroundings and understanding the way things are. It’s a curiosity, a desire to understand how things work. But make no mistake: wisdom is not another word for intelligence! Oh, no no no! To be smart is to hoard facts like a dragon hoards gold. To be wise is to pursue awareness. It doesn’t take a particularly ferocious intellect to be wise. The wise man can come from anywhere, so long as he takes in what is before him, and uses it to its greatest ends. 

Wisdom is also not cleverness. A clever man is not neutral. He is in it for personal gain. It may be a good gain, but it is gain nonetheless. A clever man scours the walls, searching for cracks through which he can slip himself through to save his hide. A clever man makes a cut in just the right spot to cause the most damage. He wields his cleverness like a dagger, seeking to land a precise strike to bring down the giant with one fatal blow. Cleverness is a weapon, wisdom is more. 

Wisdom is listening. But when we typically think of listening, it’s to people. I believe the key to wisdom is to expand that hearing to everything around you. Maybe that’s what the verse is talking about: when you stop obsessing over yourself, stop trying to be the best, the smartest or the strongest, when you stop trying to be number one and just listen to the world around you, you will find teachers everywhere. When you study the fortress, it will show you its weakness, show you its strength. You will learn from life how things do and don’t work. Many things you will learn, when you are willing to be taught. 

But I believe there’s another part to wisdom: harmony. Harmony, specifically, with your values. Are you moving in the right direction in the long run? Wisdom looks at the big picture and asks if this is where we want to be going. If cleverness is knowing how to break down the wall from its one weak point, and knowledge is all about how walls are built and designed, then wisdom is to ask if we should be breaking down this wall in the first place! It’s the direction and guidance, the blueprint-maker, that guides our actions towards our values. Before we have knowledge of how to do our finances, we have the wisdom to say this is a valuable thing to learn. Before we have the strength to move mountains, wisdom says they should be moved. 

So, what is wisdom? It’s listening to everyone else and to life. Listening not just for words, but for values. It’s listening to others to tell you what’s important, even when you might not feel the same way. It’s listening to your surroundings as they tell you what can be done and how. It’s understanding how the world works so that you can play your best part in it. It’s seeing where you need to grow and being guided on the road to getting there. But, most of all, it’s being told which direction is worth growing towards in the first place. 

I hope this makes some sense. I’ve been working on this topic for a while and I feel like I’m just getting started. Please come chew on this with me, as I would love to help us both grow in our understanding of wisdom.

Until next time

May Peace be your guide.