Wisdom V Knowledge

Fundamentally, it is important to understand that wisdom is grounded in reality in two ways. To connect with reality and develop wisdom, we need to learn to be aware. Aware of ourselves and aware of those around us. We can learn from other people's success and we can learn from their mistakes. From early on, we have all been told that we should learn from other people's mistakes. Yet we see people in trouble all the time, but we forget to learn from their mistakes. Every person you come into contact with, good or bad, is for you, a lesson in living if you will only be aware. You need to define where they are off or what they are doing right and then determine what that means for you. Everything that you observe is a chance for you to figure out what it means and what you are supposed to do about it. When you see a problem in life, yours or someone else's, something is wrong. What it is you are seeing? Figure it out. It is important that you know.

link here:

http://www.foundationsmag.com/wisdom.html

NYT on Wisdom

As an ancient concept and esteemed human value, wisdom has historically been studied in the realms of
philosophy and religion. The idea has been around at least since the Sumerians first etched bits of practical
advice — “We are doomed to die; let us spend” — on clay tablets more than 5,000 years ago. But as a trait that
might be captured by quantitative measures, it has been more like the woolly mammoth of ideas — big, shaggy
and elusive. It is only in the last three decades that wisdom has received even glancing attention from social
scientists. Erikson’s observations left the door open for the formal study of wisdom, and a few brave psychologists
rushed in where others feared to tread.