One of the most interesting conversations I’ve had lately was on the topic of “wisdom.” I was with a group of friends and we started out asking, “How would you define ‘wisdom’?” It’s more than just knowledge, we agreed, more than facts.
“Maybe it’s lessons learned from experience,” someone said. “There’s also a quality of intuition,” someone else said. “A kind of inner knowing.” So, you need to be able to trust yourself.
“Where have you found wisdom?” I asked the group and was grateful the sources were abundant, diverse. Nobody had a corner on wisdom. It came from parents, teachers, friends, leaders. From school, church, culture, nature. From loving, adventuring, losing, winning. And on and on.
Then we tried to identify pieces of wisdom that had helped us along the way, that had offered guidance or comfort. “Remember the big picture,” one woman said, “the long view.”
I spoke of a remark I’d recently heard that stayed with me, not only because of what was said but who said it. Dolly Parton was asked if she’d forgiven someone.
“Of course,” she replied, “Forgiveness is all there is.”
