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Respecting Our Wisdom and Judgment

Wisdom is meaningless until your own experience has given it meaning and there is wisdom in the selection of wisdom.

~Bergen Evans~

Have you ever thought about how we end up doing the things we do? Have you ever acted a certain way and then thought to yourself, “That was dumb?” I would guess all of us have from time to time. Those of us with experience as parents have often watched our children getting into trouble by not thinking first. I would dare say one of the main jobs of parents is to get their children to think before they act.

Knowledge is a collection of facts. Wisdom is the way we evaluate our actions and put them into perspective. Judgment involves thinking before acting. People sometimes are able to recite all the facts about what will happen if they act a certain way but don’t take the consequences seriously. Criminals are well aware of the consequences of their crimes but somehow don’t think the rules apply to them.

Sometimes we make up our own rules as we go along. We expect one thing from everyone else but have our own private set of rules for our actions. I think we sometimes forget why there are rules in the first place or don’t consider them as applying to us.

When we were children, the ultimate authority lay in our parents. Even if we did not understand the rules or want to accept them, our parents said these were the rules “because I said so.” As we became older, most of us took the time to understand why we have rules. It is a way of knowing what to expect from others and what others expect from us.

Respecting the rules is a way of respecting each other. Could you imagine driving down the road and not knowing whether another driver will stop at a red light, drive on the expected side of the road or obey traffic signs?

Wisdom is not always written down as laws or rules. Much of wisdom is the result of learning over generations about consequences and the best way to do things. Some of this wisdom ends up in the laws of our civilization but some of it is handed down in our family traditions. We can learn everything the hard way, but we save ourselves a great deal of trouble by learning from our forebears. The problem is that it takes a certain amount of wisdom to recognize the wisdom of others. We sometimes think we know best and can learn everything we need to on our own.

We might be able to find our own path, but it is like clearing a way through a jungle when there is a nearby path waiting for us to follow it. Do we really want to spend all that time learning what others have learned and rediscovering paths which our ancestors have forged? We do have a choice.

Action Steps

  • Think about what lessons you have learned from your parents and grandparents.
  • Compare what happens when you listen to wisdom or act impulsively.
  • Who are the wise people in your life now?
  • What can you learn from them?
  • What would it take to share your wisdom with others?

Selection from my book, Navigating Life: Commonsense Reflections for the Voyage, available at Amazon.