Wisdom

I think a lot about wisdom, what it is, how each can gain a little, what it means to share it in a society. Recently I have been thinking about it more than usual; for the obvious reason. By all appearances humanity has abandoned anything having to do with wisdom. The world is obsessed with power, oppression, hate, greed and war. Religious and political leaders via for dominance. Economics is nothing but greed.

This is particularly highlighted by the current election cycle in the US. There doesn't appear to be a single wise person involved; anywhere, in either party, at any level. Which brings up the question, how would we spot a wise person if one showed up? What does it mean to be wise?

Most of us would like to claim that we would know it when we see it. Maybe. But it doesn't seem to me many of us are looking for it for ourselves; why would we expect to see it in others? So here are some of my thoughts on wisdom.

Like all attributes wisdom is a composit thing, made of overlapping characteristics that glow through many layers. I think of it is an aggregate thing as well, the result of interlocking characteristics which are, themselves, made of many layers.

One of those characteristics is understanding. Understanding starts with gathering and accepting facts and assembling the consequences of those facts into a basic kind of education. Thus is how the world exists, here is my place in it, these are the relationships between things and people and events. Such an education is added to other educations based on different sets of facts, merged and honed they become knowledge. A knowledgeable person may or may not be an outright expert in one discipline or another, but such a one is well grounded and good at spotting the true from the false. Mix in enough knowledge with humility and empathy and there is understanding.

Understanding is a necessary thing and we don't have near enough of it in the world, but makes up only the intellectual layers of wisdom. Understanding is the mind's contributions, if you will allow me to put it so. Wisdom has vast practical layers as well; callouses, bruises, hours of sweat dripping off one's nose, hard decisions and taking responsibility for both the expected and unexpected consequences of those decisions. There is no wisdom outside of experience. Experience is the body's contribution, added to that of the mind. It may also be the hardest part of wisdom to accumulate as it can't be rushed, circumvented, ignored or faked. One can be smart without experience; talented, gifted, expert even, but one can't be wise.

Yet even a person with layers of experience laid over those of much understanding may still not know much of wisdom. They can have the mind's contributions of understanding kneaded into the emotional leaven of humility and empathy. They can have the experience of years etched into the skin around their eyes. But there is one more layer needed, the contribution of the soul if you will.

Love.

Without love the very core of wisdom is lost; understanding is dry and without context; experience is largely just suffering. Understanding and experience tempered by love leads to wisdom.

Which is why there is so little wisdom in politics or commerce. Politics seeks only power. Commerce runs on greed. To suggest that love should be part of the calculations of either discipline is to provoke nothing but snorts of derision from the politician and the business exec. And I don't know if it has always been this way, but in today's world politics is mostly about war. From nearly any vantage point humanity's primary interest is in preparing for, fighting, recovering from and preparing for the the next armed conflict. Commerce makes much of it profits from supporting this same war effort. Love, and thus wisdom, are not much in demand in a world enamored by war.

Religion would seem a place to find wisdom, the religious make big claims of love and equally big claims of understanding god. They make a claim of wisdom they rarely exhibit. The Pope is a good example. In a world full of deep poverty, exploitation, corruption and war, he makes most of his headlines deriding gay marriage. Really? He doesn't have anything he thinks more pressing to address? This is his idea of sharing wisdom with a world in need?

If knowledge and love are two requisites for wisdom, religion has little chance of exhibiting any. Which is understandable since religion is mostly about exclusion, "We are god's people. You...are not." They are also pretty dismissive of any knowledge that conflices with their assumptions. Nothing much good can come from such hubris, certainly nothing as sublime as wisdom.

With politics, commerce and religion rejecting the paths to wisdom there seems little hope that humankind will do very well in the near term. That's the bad news. The good news is that individuals seems to find little spheres where they accumulate some wisdom and share it willingly. A school teacher who has the knack for motivating a few of the young minds around her; parents and students often don't think of such as being particularly wise, but they are. The practical nurse who catches the mistakes on meds and who also has that healing touch that can mean the difference between healing and faltering.

And though it is fair to say I am an anti-religious person, there are ministers and priests and religious leaders who actually do find their way to wisdom. Usually they are renegades, people who care little for doctrines and edicts, who know that love is written in lives not on parchment. The best of them, at least in my experience, have pretty much given up on practicing religion at all. A few are just one word's definition away from being non-believers, but they practice love and cherish understanding.

Those that I know who are wise are loath to lie. They cringe at the thought of unnecessary harm and are quick to forgive the frailties of those around them. To a person they show courage that boarders on heroics and they seem to be their own least concern.

Now if we could just figure out how to get them to run for office...though most of us would probably vote for the other guy.