Are you wise or just intelligent?
It has been said “Experience is a great advantage. The problem is that when you get the experience, you’re too darn old to do anything about it.”
And maybe this is not just true of us as individuals, but also as groups, as nations, as a species.
Some thoughts:
- Intelligence is pursuit of knowledge; it tires the seeker. Wisdom is the pursuit of truth; it inspires the seeker.
- Intelligence leads us. Wisdom guides us.
- Intelligence leads us to speak when we have to say something. Wisdom leads us to speak when we have something to say.
- Intelligence is understanding what is being said. Wisdom understands what is left unsaid.
- Intelligence means we see everything as relative. Wisdom shows us that everything is related.
The difference between intelligence and wisdom is that intelligence is the capacity for quick knowledge; and wisdom is showing good judgment or the benefit of experience!
And the saddest aspect of life right now is that we are gathering knowledge and intelligence faster than we are gathering wisdom. We only have to see the news to know that wisdom is at risk as folks make dubious decisions and take rash actions.
We can choose to allow our thinking to be challenged so that we can get sharper and apply what we learn in order to turn knowledge into wisdom. If we just know but do not do we’re just smart. When we learn and apply our knowledge we’re working towards being wise. And by doing so can improve the way we handle people, overcome challenges, resolve issues.
And, just maybe, others are learning what we are learning so that wisdom can prevail!
2 Comments
Very true and in today’s world we need more wisdom!
You said it Pat!