Why Wisdom?
Wisdom is how we get out of or through difficult interpersonal situations in ways that usually work. Because it is about optimal functioning among humans, wisdom makes things go smoother.
If we were wiser:
We could see clearly what’s going on in lots of situations and know what to do.
We could help make life easier, safer, or more rewarding and enriching for ourselves and others.
We could lead a life shedding far fewer feathers than we do right now.
We could zero in on the essence of what’s going on and figure a way out of it.
Wisdom isn’t just for King Solomon
and the Dalai Lama. It’s for us too, everyday. It will probably take some practice, but we can learn to think and act in wiser ways, and we will
be more effective in what we do.
That’s because wisdom is about what matters and what we do about it. It’s a real-life process that makes the most of human flourishing. It helps us move from Me to We, from a self-focused view of the world to a larger, more inclusive one where human nature is acknowledged, no one makes a fuss, mistakes are appologized for, and life goes on—everyday wisdom.
Two wisdom stories, one Biblical, one baseball:
1. King Solomon could tell which was the real mother of the child that two women were fighting over. When he told the guards to cut the baby in two and give half to each, the real mother protested. A real mother would prefer a living child to a dead one, even if she were not raising it.
2. On June 2, 2010, in the Detroit Tigers-Cleveland Indians baseball game, the pitcher was throwing a no-hitter game, but at the bottom of the ninth inning, the umpire called the batter safe on first base. However, the replays showed that he wasn’t safe, he was out. Instead of turning red in fury and yelling at the umpire for his mistake, the pitcher simply carried on. Later, the umpire apologized to the pitcher, who said, “Nobody’s perfect.”
Copyright 2011 © Caroline Bassett, Ph.D.