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          Wisdom is said to be more precious than silver or gold.  In that case, silver and gold have limits to their value and usefulness, wisdom does not. Silver and gold are pleasing to the eye and are associated with material wealth.  Wisdom is pleasing not just to the senses, but to the soul.

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           One commonly accepted definition of wisdom includes the notion of “ability”:  The "ability " to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight”.  Wisdom is an ability - the ability to think soundly about things we are confronted with every day.  Wisdom is learned. Wisdom is an ability acquired through learning and within reach of anyone who has the ability to learn. The next thing we learn from a general definition of wisdom is that wisdom is something we “use”.  It's not an end point or destination, but a tool freely available to use when confronted with a challenge (a challenge is a less painful way of saying problem).

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"it's a process"

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           The simple, essential elements - the "basics", according to Einstein, can be a means of identifying wisdom.  Wisdom has a clear and discernible existence.  We have all heard the statement "Keep it simple, stupid".  Yet, we can keep it simple and still get it wrong.  But Einstein has this covered, because he and Wisdom always refer (defer) back to the basics for their support.  Usually, if something is either right, or wrong, it is so because the basics at its source are either right or wrong.  Whether something is right or wrong can always be discerned by breaking it down into its basic constituent parts.

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           Discernment is an already-wise process, and the burden on 'we-who-would-be-wise' is to keep it simple, and put things through the process. The next handy bit, then, is to recognize that wisdom is a process, and that one of its primary strengths is simplicity, or simplifying things down into their basic parts. 

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           Einstein also knew there was something else at the heart of everything he was discovering, as he pondered, “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind".  But the Creator of the universe has made his elemental principles of this world freely discernible to all.  Granted, spiritual things need to be discerned spiritually, but the basic rules of discernment are not dependent upon belief or unbelief in him.  He has given us both a spiritual revelation of who he is, and a material revelation embedded in what he has created. And it's ours to learn from. 

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  Where is the Wise path?
 

           It starts where ever we are.  For some of us it started sooner than others. Not all of us had ready wisdom available to us in our childhood.  Some of us didn't even know it existed. But for someone starting out anew, it starts wherever feet are planted at this time.  Wisdom, it seems, is patient.  So how does one get from where they are right now to where they would like to be? Let's say they are in Milwaukee, Wisconsin right now and want to get to San Francisco, California. There are many possibilities. You could dip down to I-80, or even I-70, depending on your hurry, or type of scenery you desire. Or, you go swing up and over on I-90.  If you wanted a more rustic route you could take state Hwy. 8 over and see the rural countryside. It depends on what kind of journey you prefer.  Oddly, the quickest way may not always be the best. There are truly many possible ways that will take you from Milwaukee to San Francisco.  Imagine starting from Milwaukee and going east? In the opposite direction of San Francisco? It may seem to some that you are going the wrong way, but you might have your reasons, and keep going.  You keep going.  Eventually, you go full-circle around the whole globe and a few boat trips later arrive in San Francisco.  Was that a wise path? Well . . . let’s see . . . you arrived, didn’t you?  For you, it may well have ultimately been a very wise, even a productive path - who’s to say?  You did arrive.  And it was, in the end, perhaps a richly challenging, edifying, and strengthening route.  At the outset, you may have had uncertain feelings about where you were going, or how you wanted to get there, or even whether San Francisco was where you wanted to go at all.  Many of us start our lives out that way. There are many different possibilities to get to where we desire to go; many different and potentially wise side paths. This metaphorical trip from Milwaukee to San Francisco is just an example of one potential journey to wind up at a wise destination - a path to wind up somewhere that is, finally, right and good and true for ourselves.  We all start out differently, and we all travel our own way.  We find that there is seldom a wise road map for such a personal trek. To identify one, Albert Einstein constantly checked his by keeping it simple and making sure he was in line with the basics. We check what we do by seeing if it aligns with the basics.  That is what every masterpiece is comprised of.  Einstein used his ability to take Science to some wild and far-reaching places.  We don't all have to follow him into some wild, mind-blowing exploration of something seemingly complicated, but the same basic principles he used can enable us to venture safely into the vast expanses of our own challenging journey toward peace and understanding. Contentment.

 

Where are the Wise?

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           Where are the wise?  Where in this world is even one person whom we all agree is wise?  This is an age-old question.  We look at the many astoundingly intelligent leaders in the world trying to address issues of life and death, prosperity and poverty, and sometimes none appear to be forthcoming with any real wisdom acceptable to the next. Agreement on wisdom is is glaringly absent from the world stage.  The world's lexicon/dictionary definitions of wisdom describe it as a quality, a soundness, an embodiment.  An attitude of desiring to know trueness, and a disposition to accept nothing less. What a worthwhile goal. How much more attainable is it than what we might think.

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           In another entry of the Oxford Dictionary is the suggestion that wisdom is a mix of of both "knowledge and experience".  This seems tangible, understandable.  Yet, it ushers in the questions "what sort of experience", and "what sort of knowledge", as well as whose knowledge and experience? This gives us permission to discuss for ourselves the nature of wisdom.  We have an opportunity, an open door now to freely explore what this precious commodity is we have access to.

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Begin with "knowledge and experience"

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          For one who is at least trying to do the wise thing the task involves being open to new knowledge and new experience. Translation? We educate each other. We share our strengths. We accept that no matter what our station is in life, our education, our profession, our area of expertise, there are things we don't know. We have strengths, we have weaknesses. It takes humility to realize that there is always more to learn, from others. That includes helpers, coaches, counselors and therapists, etc. (and clients). Counselors share their knowledge and experience together to help each other learn and grow in wisdom and effectiveness. They help educate each other. A good counselor will educate her clients to strengthen and increase their ability to lead themselves. The counselor, in turn, also needs the client to educate him about herself so he is best able to help.  The client is the best source of knowledge and experience of the client. The client is, or will try and become, the expert on him or herself.

 

           How do we test for good and bad ?  To discern between good and bad knowledge nurses, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, scientists, economists, all of us, engage in what is known as critical thinking.  The methods of critical thinking are simple and easy to implement.  The average person is not trying to get a rocket ship safely to Mars, they are simply trying to figure out what to think about some private, personal or even social issue in order to make a good life choice.  One method of critical thinking, Aristotle's inductive-deductive method of reasoning, after 2300 years, is still one of the most commonly used tools of discernment.  It later came to be referred to as the scientific method. But remember, 2300 years ago, long before they even had pencils and paper, they used to perform this brief mental task in their heads. We can do this. And, for a little help, we can even pull a computer out of our pocket (cell phone) with access to most all of the world's knowledge.t.

 

           When I was in nursing school we were using the so-called 'scientific method' to solve the simplest of problems. It is simply making an assumption and then testing the idea from various other view points. Sort of throwing it out in the open for discussion.  In the helping profession (psychological counseling), we use the principle of 'best practice'.  Finding that which has been used in the past and gotten the best results, and using it!  In science, as in all walks of life, you have people willing to claim almost anything.  Claims are easy to fabricate and confabulate, with people  eager to believe almost anything they hear, but all new ideas have eventually to be put through the process and be tested by others, and only if they pass all tests are they accepted as reliable knowledge.  It's a process of peer review built into all of science.  Every new idea, finding, or discovery gets the once-over by others in the field before it is deemed to be true and correct. And we need not to be working researchers to employ these simple, discerning methods of decision making in our daily lives - often times to ease our way.  At least it's a wise thing when you try and do the best you can. The best you can is wise and good.

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