Navigating Life’s Path
What is wisdom? Many people think that wisdom comes with age and experience. I believe that to a degree this is true, past experiences do stand you in good stead for the challenges that lie ahead. When at work for example, having the experience can really help make a task easier. However, for me I wonder if this in itself is true wisdom, or is this more just experience? Wisdom can indeed come from past experience, but I think there is more to it.
I would suggest that the concept of wisdom is multi-faceted, and actually can be explained by looking at the different aspects that I think make up wisdom.
One can have wisdom, simply by having the ability to step back and think calmly about the situation they are presented with. Taking the time to really understand the forces at play and then deciding what to do next. I think back to my own experiences,
Image by rsdiverseart. Painting.
when you find yourself in a tricky situation, when someone is having a go at you, is it wise to retaliate or to walk away? This comes to another aspect of wisdom, foresight. Having the ability to think about the consequences of our actions and look at ourselves and really critique our actions, this for me is part of wisdom. But to do this, one needs to be open minded. Open minded to new ideas, open minded to looking at themselves and one's own mistakes. You could argue that these qualities, being open minded, foresight and the ability to take a step back and think calmly about something, only come with age. However, I would argue that even the youngest children can display these aspects, which is why I believe wisdom doesn’t equal experience and age doesn’t equal wisdom.
I believe these qualities can really shine through when viewing a piece of art. For example, some artwork can be really quite abstract and therefore, being open to new ideas, being open minded can really help understand the artist's journey and the message they are trying to convey when looking at a painting. I know for me, I really have to sit back and take in the art, be open minded and then try to understand the message being conveyed, particularly when a piece of artwork is abstract.
I also admire the wisdom, or foresight, that some artists have, particularly contemporary artists, who are able to tell a story through the painting they create. This can come across when you really study the detail of some pieces of artwork and the in-depth story they tell, as well as the immediately obvious story being told.
I think art captures many of the different facets which are encompassed within wisdom, due to the very nature of its creation and those taking the time to view and understand the art, the artist and the message being portrayed.
Image by rsdiverseart. Painting.